OBJECTIVES: To compare psychometric properties of selected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) specific health related quality of life (HRQoL) instruments based on McHorney and Tarlov's (1995) criteria for individual decision making. METHODS: Four instruments were identified using the following criteria: peer reviewed publications using the instruments, focus of the instrument on HRQoL, adequate psychometric data to evaluate the instrument, instrument availability, and published in the English language. The instruments were evaluated based on the following criteria: item information, administration time, depth (floor and ceiling effect), breadth, reliability (internal consistency and test-retest), and validity. RESULTS: Of the four instruments evaluated: Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ); Calgary Sleep Apnea Quality of Life Index (SAQLI); OSA Patient-Oriented Severity Index (OSAPOSI); and Quebec Sleep Questionnaire (QSQ); the FOSQ and SAQLI were most frequently published and the QSQ and OSAPOSI were the least. All instruments met study criteria for item information and administration time. Only the SAQLI include physical, social and mental HRQoL dimensions. Depth data was missing for the majority of scales. The FOSQ and OSAPOSI met study criteria for internal consistency (a >0.90) for the total scores only. The SAQLI met study criteria for internal consistency (a =0.90 to 0.95 for daily activities, social and mental HRQoL dimensions) and test-retest reliability (r > 0.90 all scales). While for the remaining instruments, only the total score met study test-retest reliability criteria. The FOSQ, SAQLI, and QSQ scales demonstrated construct validity (convergent, discriminant and known-groups) while OSAPOSI was supported by known groups only. CONCLUSION: Our study results show that none of the instruments met all the study criteria for individual decision making. Available psychometric data support the use of SAQLI for individual decision making.