Objective: To observe the effects of a self-care program on the severity of symptoms and quality of life of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 119 patients were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=60) and a control group (n=59). Patients in both groups received the usual treatment of IBS by the gastroenterologists. The control group did not receive any intervention, whereas the experimental group was trained in the self-care program. The process of implementing the self-care program included learning the content of the self-care training package, individual training, the first follow-up call, group training, and the second follow-up call. The instruments for collecting data were IBS-Quality of Life and IBS-Symptom Severity Scale. Two sets of evaluations (before and 2 months after the intervention) were done for both groups. Results: There was not a significant difference between the two groups in the severity of symptoms and quality of life before the intervention (P>0.05); however, the 2 groups were significantly different after the intervention (P<0.001). Implementation of the self-care program resulted in the improvement of quality of life and reduction in the symptom severity in the experimental group after the intervention (P<0.001), whereas no significant changes were observed in the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion: The data supports that self-care program was effective in improving the quality of life and reducing the severity of symptoms in patients with IBS.