Objective To understand the current situation and influential factors of frailty in elderly diabetes patients, and to provide basis for clinical nursing intervention. Methods A sample of 221 hospitalized elderly diabetes patients were selected via convenience sampling method, and were interviewed by the self-designed general information questionnaire, the Chinese version of Edmonton Frail Scale, Diabetes Self-Care Activities Scale and the Geriatric Depression Scale (Short Form). Results The frailty score of the elderly diabetes patients was 6(5,9), with the frailty prevalence rate at 62.0%. Multiple linear regression showed that depression, advanced ages, polypharmacy, poor chewing ability, insulin injection, low personal monthly income were the major influencing factors (P＜0.05，P＜0.01). Conclusion The prevalence of frailty in elderly diabetes patients was at a high level. In clinical practice, medical staff should pay more attention to frailty problem of elderly diabetes patients, enhance frailty screening, and develop individualized frailty intervention strategies, so as to delay the process of frailty.