Objective To explore the effect of foot spacing on multi-directional reach test in the normal elderly and elderly patients with hemiplegia. Methods From October 2019 to December 2020, 50 eligible elderly hemiplegic cases and 50 normal elderly cases were randomly collected. The multi-directional reach tests with foot spacings of 1.0A, 1.5A and 2.0A (A=horizontal distance between bilateral anterior superior iliac spines) were carried out, and the differences and correlations of the maximum horizontal extension distances in the same direction with the three foot spacings were analyzed. Results The statistical results of the normal elderly group (n=50), the left hemiplegic elderly group (n=28), and the right hemiplegic elderly group (n=22) could be described as follows: the maximum horizontal stretching distances in the same direction of left or right were significantly different among the tests with three foot spacings (P<0.05), and the horizontal stretching distance was the largest when the foot spacing was 1.5A; there was no statistically significant difference in the maximum horizontal extension distances in the same direction of forward or backward among the tests with three foot spacings (P>0.05). In the normal elderly, the Pearson correlation coefficients between the maximum horizontal extension distances with the three foot spacings in the left direction were 0.64-0.71 (P<0.05), and those in the right direction were 0.68-0.75 (P<0.05). In the left hemiplegic elderly, the Pearson correlation coefficients between the maximum horizontal extension distances with the three foot spacings in the left direction were 0.72-0.77 (P<0.05), and those in the right direction were 0.78-0.82 (P<0.05). In the right hemiplegic elderly, the Pearson correlation coefficients between the maximum horizontal extension distances with the three foot spacings in the left direction were 0.62-0.77 (P<0.05), and those in the right direction were 0.72-0.88 (P<0.05). Conclusions The results of the study on the normal elderly, left hemiplegic elderly and right hemiplegic elderly are the same. When the normal elderly and hemiplegic elderly are tested in the community and clinic, the fixed foot spacing should be chosen, and the maximal horizontal extension distance on the coronal plane is significantly affected by different foot spacings.