Objective To explore the effect of empowerment education on exercise rehabilitation for patients after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods A total of 73 patients receiving PCI treatment were divided into an experimental group （n=36） and a control group （n=37） according to the admission ward. The control group received routine health education, and the experimental group received empowerment education, which was consisted of three stages and 8 times. The aerobic exercise endurance, exercise self-efficacy and exercise compliance before the intervention and 1 month as well as 3 months after the intervention for the patients in the two groups were evaluated and compared. Results At 1 month and 3 months after the intervention, the 6 minutes walk distance, the score of exercise self-efficacy and exercise compliance of the experimental group were significantly better than those of the control group （P＜0.05,P＜0.01）. Conclusion Empowerment education for patients after PCI is conducive to promoting their aerobic exercise endurance, exercise self-efficacy and exercise compliance, then improve patients′ exercise rehabilitation.