Objective To investigate the status quo and etiology of anemia in the elderly. Methods A retrospective analysis was made of 10 307 patients aged ≥60 years, who were treated in Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 1,3 and March 31,3. Their clinical data were collected. They were stratified based on the age for the analysis of the incidence of anemia across age groups and influence of gender, age, population category and model of medical consultation on the incidence of anemia. According to the clinical diagnosis and indicators of the patients, distribution of causes was analyzed. SPSS statistics 22.0 was used for data processing, and according to data types, Chi-square test for comparison between groups. Results The overall incidence of anemia was 23.4% (2 412/10 307). The incidence of anemia increased with age (P<0.01). The model of medical consultation had a significant influence on the incidence (P<0.01), but category of population did not (P>0.05). Etiologic analysis found that unexplained anemia (1 119/2 412,6.4%) topped the list, followed by chronic disease (835/2 412,4.6%) and nutritional anemia (458/2 412, 19.0%). Conclusion The elderly patients are susceptible to anemia and the causes are complex, warranting special attention by the clinicians.