Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of varicose veins of lower extremity in the elderly patients in order to provide reference for the diagnosis, treatment and management in elderly population. Methods Clinical data of 3 860 patients with varicose veins of lower extremity who underwent surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected and retrospectively analyzed in this study. According to the age, the subjects were divided into elderly group (≥60 years old, n=1 540) and non-elderly group (<60 years old, n=2 320). SPSS statistics 18.0 was used to perform the statistical analysis. Student′s t test, Chi-square test, or Mann-Whitney U test was used for intergroup comparison based on the data type. Results According to the results of Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology (CEAP) classification, there was statistically significant difference between the two groups in the CEAP grades (P<0.05). The patients in the elderly group were mainly in grade C4, and those in the non-elderly group were mainly in grade C3. The elderly group had an obviously longer duration of illness, larger proportion of more systemic or localized complications and longer length of hospitalization, but later for out-of-bed activities when compared with the non-elderly group (all P<0.05). Conclusion For varicose veins of lower extremities, the elderly patients have a longer duration of illness, severer condition, and more systemic or localized complications. Therefore, comprehensive assessment and individualized treatment are required for them.