Objective To evaluate the potential inappropriate medication (PIM) for elderly inpatients based on the Beers criteria of 2019 edition in order to provide the references for rational clinical medication for the elderly. Methods A retrospective study was carried out on 728 elderly patients who were discharged from the Yan′an Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University from May to November 2019. Their PIM status was assessed with 2019 Beers criteria. SPSS statistics 23.0 was used for data analysis. According to different data type, t test or χ² test was used for data comparison between two groups.Results Among the 728 enrolled patients, 308 of them had at least one type of PIM problems, involving a total of 490 times of drug use. Among the 490 times, 256 times were drug-related PIM, with proton pump inhibitors and benzodiazepines most common. There were 10 times of PIM related to the disease state. There were 176 times of drugs that should be used with caution being used, and 16 drug interactions in these elderly patients. Thirty-two times of medications, which should be used with caution in elderly patients with renal insufficiency, were identified. Conclusion Our identified PIM problems in this study involve all evaluation contents in the 2019 Beers criteria and many clinical issues which deserve attention. Therefore, the criteria are reasonable and effective in the evaluation of PIM for elderly inpatients.