OBJECTIVES:  With the coming of ageing society, improving subjective well-being (SWB) of the elderly become an important task. This study not only aimed at making the relationship between SWB and health status clearer, but also tried to find out more reasonable predictors of SWB. METHODS:  Structured questionnaire and face-to-face interview were used in this study. The questionnaire contained five parts (demography and socio-economy, social support and social adjustment, health status, behaviors, and SWB). The target population was healthy or sub-healthy people aged 60 years and older in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, and multi-stage sampling was used in this study. Wilcoxon rank sum test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Student-Newman-Keuls test and hierarchal multiple regression analyses were conducted for exploring the predictors of SWB. RESULTS:  436 local residents participated in the interview, and 7 were excluded in statistical analysis. In 429 subjects, the proportion of men was 49.88%, and the average age was 69.89 years. As for quality of life, the average EQ-5D index of subjects was 0.78. In terms of SWB, 77.39% of subjects had high scores (score ≥13) in the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale. In hierarchal multiple regression analyses, health status factors did not contribute to SWB when all of variables were included. On the contrary, some social support and social adjustment factors, demographic and socio-economic factors, and behavioral factors could influence SWB significantly. CONCLUSIONS:  In order to achieve successful ageing, improving social support and social adjustment might be an available measure for improving SWB in the elderly.