Objective To explore the difference of perceived autonomy and its relationship with self-supporting ability of rural elderly. Methods A total of 350 rural elderly in Hunan Province were surveyed by the general information questionnaire, Self-supporting Ability Questionnaire for Elderly People, Simplified Chinese Version of the Perceived Enactment of Autonomy Scale. Latent profile analysis was used to identify potential categories of perceived autonomy. Results The perceived autonomy of the rural elderly was identified as a model with three latent categories, defined as low autonomy-high dependency type(14.0%), moderate autonomy type(55.1%) and independent autonomy type (30.9%). Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the perceived autonomy could independently explain 21.9% of the variation in self-supporting ability of the rural elderly after controlling demographic variables. Conclusion The perceived autonomy of rural elderly is characterized by category distribution, including low autonomy-high dependence type, medium autonomy type and independent autonomy type. Those with low autonomy-high dependence type have the lowest self-supporting ability and require special attention.