OBJECTIVES:  To measure the frequency of post-chikungunya (CHIK) chronic inflammatory rheumatism (pCHIK-CIR) and to assess its impact on quality of life (QoL) in a cohort of Colombia. METHODS:  In a cohort study among 111 cases diagnosed in Colombia, demographic and clinical characteristics were collected at baseline, and QoL status by 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). pCHIK cases were identified according to validated criteria by WHO (2015) via telephone. Those with other arbovirosis during follow-up were excluded. RESULTS:  Of the total CHIK-infected subjects, 78 (45.6%) reported persistent rheumatological symptoms (pCHIK-CIR). All of these patients reported joint pains (chronic polyarthralgia, pCHIK-CPA), 43.9% morning stiffness, 38.6% joint edema, and 19.9% joint redness. All dimensions of SF36 as well as physical and mental component summaries were impaired in pCHIK-CIR+ compared to pCHIK-CIR- subjects. Differences in median scores between both groups, pCHIK-CIR- with 81.62% and pCHIK-CIR+ with 54.16%, were statistically significant (p<0.0001). In addition, there in five dimensions (p<0.05) (physical functioning [85.53%/53.89%], role physical [85.53%/41.20%], bodily pain [81.62%/51.62%], vitality [76.25%/56.42%] and role emotional [85.96%/54.94%]). CONCLUSIONS:  Despite possible cohort attrition bias, the comparability of pCHIK-CIR+/- subjects allows the assumption of a long-term impact of CHIK infection with less chance of returning to a previous health status. We observed sharp reductions in QoL not only during active pCHIK-CIR+ associated illness but also for several months after clinical recovery compared to healthy normals. This has implications for developing intervention programmes in countries with high risk of CHIK outbreaks.