OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe health-related quality of life (HRQL) of chronically ill patients in Venezuela and to explore the association among quality of life, demographics, and health behaviors. METHODS: A convenience sample of 105 chronically ill patients, ranging in age from 18 to 91 years were surveyed using a written questionnaire. HRQL was determinate using the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36 (MOS SF-36). The associations among HRQL, demographics, and health behaviors were estimated computing Pearson's correlation coefficients for continuous variables, and Kendall 's t coefficients for categorical variables. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 60 females and 45 males. The sample had a mean age of 49.63 years (s.d. 20.23 years). Thirty-two subjects (30.5%) evaluated their health as fair or poor and 14 subjects (13.3%) reported health deterioration during the past year. Seventy-nine subjects (76%) reported current medication use. The prevalence of alcohol consumption during the previous month was 51.4% and for smoking it was 21.95%. Two thirds of the sample reported no exercising during the previous month. Exercising regularly was associated with higher scores in all HRQL scales. Age and alcohol consumption were associated with lower HRQL scores in physical functioning (PF) and general health (GH) but not in mental health (MH). Male subjects scored significantly higher in perceived HRQL in PF and MH scales than female subjects. Education was associated with higher scores in PF and GH but not in MH domain. Smoking and income were not associated with any HRQL scale. CONCLUSION: The overall quality of life of this group of Venezuelan chronically ill patients is good. This exploratory study demonstrates sex differences in perceived quality of life of chronically ill patients. Quality of life is associated to certain predictors of future health status, including health behaviors such as exercising regularly and alcohol consumption.