Life expectancy of the elderly is a significant problem in China, and it changes not only the health care, but also the pension. This study used tracking data from the Chinese Urban and Rural Elderly Population Survey to calculate the age-specific Active Life Expectancy (ALE) of the Chinese elderly population aged 60 years and over. For analysis, this population was divided into different subpopulations according to gender, census register and region. The main conclusions of our study are as follows: 1) The quality of life for elderly males may be greater than that for elderly females; 2) There were significant differences in Active Life Expectancy (ALE) and Inactive Life Expectancy (ILE) between urban and rural elderly; 3) The differences in ALE between the eastern, central and western regions of China were not significant; and 4) The increased remaining life expectancy of the elderly was mainly attributed to the extended ALE in the lower age group and the expanded ILE in the higher age group. This study expands the knowledge of Chinese elderly’s life expectancy in different health status.

中国老年人口期望寿命是与医疗、养老保障相关的一个重要研究领域。本研究利用中国老年人口城乡追踪调查数据计算了中国60岁以上老年人口的健康期望寿命分布状况。研究表明：老年男性人口的生命质量好于同年龄的女性人口；城乡老年人的健康期望寿命和非健康期望寿命有显著差异；老年人口期望寿命的区域（东中西部）差异不显著；低年龄老年人口的剩余期望寿命的增长主要由健康期望寿命延长决定。

Ping Gao, Handong Li (correspondent author).Advances in Aging Research, 2016, 5, 27-39.