Objective To explore the correlation between constipation and frailty in the elderly in order to provide the evidence for clinical intervention. Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out on the comprehensive data from 473 hospitalized elderly patients admitted to Department of Geriatrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from September 2016 to June 2019. Constipation was diagnosed by symptoms, and status of frailty was assessed by FRAIL scale and physical function evaluation. SPSS statistics 20.0 was used for data analysis. According to different data type, t test, variance analysis orχ² test was used for data comparison, and logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between frailty and constipation.Results The prevalence of constipation was 20.1% (49/244) in the non-frailty patients, 31.5% (51/162) in the pre-frailty patients, and 47.8% (32/67) in the frail patients, and the differences were statistically significant among the three groups (χ²=21.58, P<0.001). The constipation patients had poor physical function, with longer time in 5-times sit-stand test [(14.0±8.8) vs (11.7±5.4) s], lower maximum handgrip strength [(23.8±8.5) vs (26.2±9.0) kg], and lower points of short physical performance battery (SPPB) [(9.1±3.1) vs (10.2±2.6)points] when compared with the patients without constipation (P<0.05). In addition, multivariate logistic regression showed that constipation was related to frailty, depression and falls (P<0.05). Conclusion In the elderly, constipation is closely related to frailty, and comorbid with declined physical function and geriatric syndromes, needing comprehensive care.