This study has investigated the relationship between a health-promoting lifestyle and the subjective well-being of elderly people in Tainan, by conducting a cross-sectional survey of the elderly in the Anding District, Tainan City, using the stratified cluster sampling method. The total valid sample size was 340. Our study found that the health-promoting lifestyles where they had beneficial healthy habits but had low participation within the community. The health responsibility variable was not associated with any health-promoting lifestyle. Healthy habits and exercise deteriorated with increasing age. People who suffered from other illnesses had inferior healthy habits, community participation, diet, and oral health. The oral health of women was superior to that of men. Married participants scored higher in community participation and regular exercise. Participants who actively participated in the community events and thereby had a superior self-perceived health, ensured a more favorable healthy routine, by opting for healthier diets, and by exercising more. In addition, subjective well-being was higher for those who were better educated, participated more in community events, and had a superior self-perceived health. However, older people, and those with other diseases, had a lower subjective wellbeing. Demographic variables and health-promoting lifestyles can predict the subjective well-being of the participants, thus explaining 23.6% of the total variance. Self-perceived health, healthy behaviors, education, participation in community events, and health responsibility are the main predictors, whilst the self-perceived health and healthy habits are the most powerful of predictors. This study proposed the following suggestions to improve the health-promoting lifestyles and subjective well-being of elderly people: 1. The Tainan city government should cooperate with schools or NGOs to design programs aiming to enhance the health knowledge of the uneducated elderly. 2. The Tainan government should design the strategies to improve oral heath for those who are under 65 years of age, and were of a low socioeconomic status, but could be subsidized by welfare programs. 3. The Tainan government should encourage interpersonal interaction and social support for community members in order to improve their social participation.