目的:探讨西宁地区住院老年人死亡原因。方法:对1996年—2005年10年间本院住院老年病人死亡原因汇总分析,并与同期住院非老年人组进行对照比较。结果:西宁地区住院老年人死因以心血管病、恶性肿瘤、脑血管病为主,且与非老年组有统计学上显著差别。居前三位的病种为肺心病、脑溢血、肺癌。结论:西宁地区老年人的疾病防治重要点以肺心病、高血压脑溢血、肺癌等为主。 Objective: To investigate the cause of death of hospitalized elderly in Xining area. Methods: A summary analysis of the causes of death of elderly patients in our hospital during the 10 years from 1996 to 2005 was conducted and compared with the non-elderly group in the same period. Results: The causes of death in hospitalized elderly in Xining area were mainly cardiovascular disease, malignant tumor, and cerebrovascular disease, and there was a statistically significant difference from the non-elderly group. The top three diseases are pulmonary heart disease, cerebral hemorrhage and lung cancer. Conclusion: The main points for the prevention and treatment of the elderly in Xining are pulmonary heart disease, hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage, and lung cancer.