Objectives: Life expectancy has increased over the world and resulting in increased number of old people. Thus, it is not just the living years which are important now, but the quality of life is itself a goal. This includes the elderly living in the rural areas as well to help recognize what steps tobe taken to promote these older peoples’ health and prevent disability. This study intends to examine the quality of life of the rural elderlies living in Dashti District of Boushehr Province, Iran.

Methods & Materials: In a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytic study,we examined quality of life of the rural older people of Dashti District of Boushehr Province in February 2010, using SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Applying a multistage cluster sampling, 69 rural older people who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were selected as samples. Data gathering was performed through face to face interview and the statistical software SPSS 17 was used for data analysis. One-way analysis of variance and T-Test were used to determine the relationships between demographic variables and quality of life.

Results: The quality of life significantly varied in different ages and marital statuses in its two subscales of vitality and mental health (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant differences in the quality of life of male and female older people (P>0.05). The mean score of sub-scale of physical role limitation was significantly higher in the subjects who were able to read Quran (P=0.016) compared to those who could not. The mean scores of quality of life and its dimensions in the older people living in Dashti Districtwere less than median except in the subscale of social function.

Conclusion: According to the results, the quality of life of rural older people in Dashti District is lower than the average, so immediate attention and interventions are necessary to improve their quality of life.