Objective To observe the status of the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in elderly hemodialysis patients. Methods Thirty-six elderly and 36 other ages patients both with uremia who received AVF operation were studied. The success rate of operation and the patency rate of vessels were analyzed. Results The success rate of old-age group was lower than the control group (P<0.05). All the patients were followed up for 4 days, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years. The patency rate of vessels of old-age group was 84.75%, 77.97%, 67.80%, 50.85%, 40.68%, 20.34% respectively. And the patency rate of vessels of the control group was 96.08%, 92.16%, 84.31%, 70.59%, 60.78%, 41.18% respectively. There were significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). Conclusion The life of AVF in elderly is relatively short.