Objective To investigate the prevalence of the loss of basic activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) influencing factors in the elderly population in China and provide evidence for the effective keeping and improvement of the elderly daily living.Methods The information about demographic characteristics and activities of daily living of elderly Chinese aged ≥ 60 years were collected by using the data of 2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.The elderly's ADL of taking bath,eating,getting in and out of bed,dressing,toilet use,and defecating and the IADL of doing housework,cooking,making phone call,taking medicine,shopping and money managing were evaluated.The differences in loss of ADL among different populations were compared by x2 test and logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify influencing factors for the loss of ADL and IADL.Results The overall ADL loss rate was 23.8％ and the overall IADL loss rate was 35.4％ in elderly Chinese.The proportion of having trouble in toilet use was highest among all ADL items,followed by bathing and getting in and out of bed.The proportion of having trouble in making phone call was highest among all IADL items,followed by doing housework and money managing.Female,older age,low educational level,living in central and western China,chronic diseases and disability were factors associated with ADL loss and IADL loss;the divorced or separated,widowed were more likely to have ADL loss;people living in rural area were more likely to have IADL loss.Conclusion It is necessary to take comprehensive measures to delay and reduce the ADL and IADL loss in elderly Chinese and provide timely and appropriate health care for the elderly with ADL or IADL loss.