Objective: To explore the relevant factors affecting the intestinal preparation status of elderly patients in China and provide valuable references to determine the targeted bowel preparations to optimize nursing interventions. Methods: The elderly patients aged ≥60 years who underwent colonoscopy at Shanghai 10th People’s Hospital from January 2018 to April 2019 were investigated. The relevant information of patients were recorded and analyzed, such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), history of abdominal surgery and colonoscopy, cardiopulmonary complications, diet before intestinal preparation, medication time and dose, exercise time during the period, times of defecation, characteristics of the last defecation and adverse reactions. Results: The rate of insufficient bowel preparation was 31.46%. Factors closely related to insufficient bowel preparation were age (P=0.018), history of abdominal surgery [odds ratio (OR) =2.834, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.412–5.423], combined with stroke (OR =2.853, 95%CI: 1.534–5.183), combined with chronic constipation (OR =3.464, 95%CI: 1.673–6.982), insufficient dose (OR =4.934, 95%CI: 1.934–11.234), non-slag liquid diet (OR =2.984, 95%CI: 1.498–5.983), exercise time <30 min (OR =2.475, 95%CI: 1.253–4.886), the times of stools after taking the drug (P<0.001). Conclusion: The past illness history and medicine dosage, types of diet and sport time of elderly patients are closely related to intestinal preparation, so that nursing personnel should carry out targeted nursing intervention to improve the quality of intestinal preparation according to the individual condition of elderly patients.