Objective To explore the factors influencing the recovery of ability in the activities of daily living (ADL) after intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods A total of 108 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage admitted for rehabilitation to the rehabilitation medicine department of Huashan Hospital between January 2007 and June 2011 were studied.Twelve items of clinical data were collected with regard to the patients' medical history,physical status,modified Barthel index (MBI) score and Brunnstrom stage at admission.Functional status was classified according to the MBI scores and Brunnstrom stages assessed at admission and before discharge.Linear regression analysis was used to relate the variables. Results After rehabilitation,the MBI scores and Brunnstrom stages had improved relative to the scores at admission.Factors influencing the MBI improvements included the intervention timing of rehabilitation and the course of therapy employed. Conclusions It is very important to comprehend the factors influencing the recovery of ADL ability after cerebral hemorrhage in order to design effective rehabilitation strategies,better predict functional outcomes and improve patients' ADL ability effectively.