Background: Aging is an inevitable one of the phenomenon in the global health area, including China. Pre-frailty and frailty are associated with age and it is in an unbalanced state. Therefore, both pre-frailty and frailty are closely linked to older people and might have an impact on their self-care ability in daily life. So it is important for nurses to help older people to maintain their independence and self-care ability.

Aim: To describe the status of self-care ability and associated factors of self-care ability among pre-frail and frail older people in a community of Lishui.

Method: The study had a cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational design. In August and September 2020, the older people (n=186), aged 60 and above, in one community in Lishui, China (or province) did the questionnaire survey. General social characteristics, the questionnaires Frail scale and ADL scale were used to collect data. The status of self-care ability was described using Mean value and SD value and the associated factors were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and T-test analysis.

Result: The self-care ability of the pre-frail and frail older people in a community of Lishui showed that an ADL total score of 14.77±3.35, and the instrumental daily living ability of older people was better than the physical living self-care ability. The number of drugs was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The number of drugs taken was the factor associated with the self-care ability of the pre-frail and frail older people in a community in Lishui. In the process of nursing, nurses should do a comprehensive assessment of the pre-frail and frail older people’s function, follow the physiological rules of the pre-frail and frail older people, provide drugs more accurately, help them to restore the self-care ability, and delay the progress of frailty.