Objective To observe the short-term efficacy, side effects, impact on quality of life (QOL) of capecitabine alone in treating elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Methods Thirty-nine elderly patients [aged (73.2±2.5) years, ranging from 69 to 82 years] with pathological identified advanced colorectal cancer admitted in our hospital from October 2009 to February 2014 were enrolled in this study, and they all were treated with 2 500mg/(m2·d) capecitabine for 14 consecutive days and an interval of 7d (a cycle). The effectiveness and side effects were evaluated for every 2 cycles. Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), designed by European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), was conducted on the patients before and in 6 weeks after the therapy. Results Among the 39 patients, there were 1 case of complete remission, 11 cases of partial remission, 18 cases of stable disease, and 9 cases of progressive disease. The efficient rate was 30.76%, and tumor control rate was as high as 76.92%. The main side effects were hand-foot syndrome (61.54%), bone marrow depression (66.67%), and skin pigmentation (64.10%), and all these symptoms were mild. Their physical function, role function, social function and overall health score were increased significantly when compared with the conditions before treatment (P＜0.05). Conclusion Capecitabine therapy alone is effective and only causes mild side effects for the elderly patients with advanced colorectal cancer, and it also improves their QOL.