PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the status of the functional health literacy of the elderly living in a rural community and to identify the influencing factors on the functional health literacy. METHODS: Subjects (n=238) aged over 60 years were selected for data collection. Functional health literacy was measured by Korean Health Literacy, which consisted of 15 items including eight numeracy and seven comprehension items. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA with Scheffe test, and stepwise multiple regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean score of total functional health literacy was 6.66+/-3.31, numeracy was 3.52+/-1.76, and comprehension was 3.41+/-2.10. Of the subjects, 39.1% showed a low score below the median split. In the results of stepwise multiple regression, the factors affecting functional health literacy were basic literacy, age, number of chronic diseases, self-reported health status, and gender. These factors accounted for 33.0% of functional health literacy. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that interventions for improving functional health literacy are necessary to enhance elders' ability of self-care management. In addition, it is needed to take into account the individual characteristics of the subjects depending on their gender, age, and health status.