ObjectiveTo evaluate the conditions of activity of daily living (ADL) and influence factors of ADL of hospitalized elderly (≥60 years old) patients. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the health and ADL conditions of hospitalized elderly patients in the geriatric department of a tertiary hospital in Chongqing by ADL scale. The influence factors of ADL were analysed by using logistic regression analysis. ResultsA total of 375 hospitalized elderly patients were included. The ADL impairment rate of female was 59.60% (93/156), the one of male was 75.90% (166/219), and there was significant difference between different sex (χ2=11.169, P=0.001). The impairment rate by age were 95.40% at 60 to 69 years old, 91.40% at 70 to 79 years old, 87.20% at 80 to 89 years old, and 98.55% at above 90 years old, respectively; there was significant difference among different age groups (χ2=8.575, P=0.036). The result of logistic regression analysis showed that age was the individual risk factor of ADL (OR=0.188, 95%CI 0.085 to 0.416, P=0.000). The difficulty of walking up and down stairs occupied the highest proportion (68.80%) in 10 items of ADL scale. ConclusionHospitalized elderly patients should be equipped with specialized paramedics to minimize the difficulties of ADL, in order to improve their quality of life.