Objective To explore the correlative factors for anemia and the correlation of kidney function with anemia in the elderly through investigating the influence of glomerular filtration rate(GFR) and erythropoietin(EPO) on anemia incidence. Methods A total of 200 elderly patients(≥60 years) were enrolled and divided into three groups according to estimated GFR(eGFR) with Cockcroft-Gault equation: group A(62 cases), eGFR＞50 ml/(min?1.73m2); group B(114 cases), 30 ml/(min?1.73m2)≤eGFR≤50 ml/(min?1.73m2); group C(24 cases), eGFR＜30 ml/(min?1.73m2). Besides, 30 healthy adults were selected as control group. In addition, 66 elderly patients with anemia were divided into group AA, AB and AC according to eGFR (the same as above standard). Hemoglobin(Hb), serum creatinine(Scr) and serum EPO were measured. Results Anemia incidence of the elderly increased with decline of renal function(P＜0.05). Log EPO was negatively correlated with Hb in control group(r2 = 0.219, P = 0.009) and group A(r2 = 0.065, P = 0.045), but positively correlated with Hb in group C(r2 = 0.294, P = 0.006). There was no correlation between LogEPO and Hb in group B. In the elderly with anemia, EPO level decreased with decline of renal function. Compared with group AA, LogEPO was significantly reduced in group AC(P = 0.042). Conclusion In the elderly with moderate decline of renal function, prevalence of anemia increases significantly. EPO shows compensatory increase with age, which is weakened with decrease of eGFR, and low EPO may be a main reason for anemia in the elderly with severe reduced renal function.