Obiectives: The purpose of this study is to explore the elderly's awareness of home health care services as well as related factors. Methods: The data came from a 1996 survey of a representative sample involving 1911 elderly aged 65 and over living in 4 communities in the Taipei area. Results: Of the 1589 respondents selected in this study, only 12.1% had knowledge about home health care services. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that factors significantly associated with the awa reness of home health care included age, ethnicity, family income, education, resident area, self-rated health and social interaction. Conclusions: We suggest that health authorities should strengthen the extension of home health case services.