Abstract: 【Abstract】Objective To explore the correlation between health literacy and treatment compliance of maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients in order to provide a theoretical basis for effective management of MHD patients. Methods A total of 240 MHD patients were investigated by convenience sampling method. Correlation analysis was used for data processing. Results The total score of health literacy was 19.36±3.82 in MHD patients, which is lower than the norm in Chinese population (t=-3.968, P＜0.001). The total score of treatment compliance was 96.22±9.32 in the MHD patients, which is higher than the norm in Chinese population (t=9.822, P＜0.001), but the hemodialysis compliance dimension was below the norm in Chinese population (t= -61.225, P＜0.001). There was a positive correlation between health literacy and treatment compliance in MHD patients (r= 0.386, P＜0.001). Conclusion There was a positive correlation between health literacy and treatment compliance in MHD patients. Therefore, health care professions can improve the treatment compliance of MHD patients through enhancing their health literacy.

Key words: Maintenance hemodialysis, Health literacy, Treatment compliance