OBJECTIVES: Spasticity due to stroke or other neurological disorders can significantly impact quality of life due to diminished walking speed, impairment in the ability to transfer, climb up and down stairs and to perform other activities of daily living. Different levels of functional independence in the home and community have been defined for patients based on gait velocity (Perry et al 1995; Goldie et al, 1996 & McGinley, 1991). These functional categories range from the most restricted ‘physiological walker’ to the independent ‘community walker’. The aim of this study was to determine if a change in gait speed and thus an improvement to a higher functional category would be associated with enhanced quality of life in patients with spasticity. METHODS: Patients with lower limb spasticity associated with aetiologies such as; stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or brain injury, were enrolled in the study. Utility values were derived directly from patients’ responses to the Assessment of Quality of Life (AQoL) questionnaire. Gait speed was evaluated using the ten metre walk speed assessment. Patients were also evaluated using the Lindmark Modified Fugl Meyer (LMFM) scale and items from the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scale. Patients were classified into four or six functional categories based on gait speed alone or using a combination of gait speed and other measures. RESULTS: 127 patients were recruited for the study throughout Australia. The mean utility results returned for the four categories were: physiological (0.316), household (0.247), limited community (0.462) and community functional walkers (0.565). The  physiological group utility was 0.207 when 3 patients with independent locomotion were removed from the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The AQOL questionnaire was found to be an appropriate instrument to elicit utility results for the different categories of functional walking independence in patients with lower limb spasticity.