OBJECTIVES: To explore the adaption of quality-of-life (QoL) measurements and establish appropriate utility measure for Taiwanese rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, this study aims to apply both direct and indirect QoL measures and assess potential influencing factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a medical center in Southern Taiwan from June to November 2009. Adult RA outpatients were invited for interviews, while health-related quality of life was measured by time-trade-off (TTO), Euroqol (EQ-5D) questionnaire and visual analogue scale (EQ-5D VAS). The EQ-5D assessment was transformed into EQ-5D index using Japanese preference weight. Patients’ details on demography, disease activity score 28 (DAS28) and current medicine were also collected. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate relationship between patients’ details and utility values as well as the five dimensions of EQ-5D. RESULTS: Seventy-nine adult RA outpatients were successfully interviewed (86% women, mean age 55.23±11.30 years, and mean RA history: 9.5±4.98 years). Mean utility value measured by EQ-5D VAS, EQ-5D index and TTO were 63.66±19.85, 0.71±0.18 and 0.58±0.32, irrespectively. Patients with higher disease activity reported lower utility and more difficulties in the EQ-5D’s five dimensions. Stratifying by medications, patients using biological agents (N=32) have higher disease activity (higher DAS28) than others (N=47), but there is no significant difference in utility scores. After adjusting demography and EQ-5D dimensions, disease activity is associated with all utility measures, but there are more factors (marriage, selfcare problems, depression and weekly dose of methotrexate) influencing the TTO score. CONCLUSIONS: For Taiwanese RA patients, EQ-5D index is only and highly associated with the disease activity, and therefore this instrument may be an appropriate to assess local RA patients’ QoL. However, since there is no Taiwanese EQ-5D value sets for deriving EQ-5D index, it is necessary to develop the Taiwanese population-based preference weight for EQ-5D in the future.