Objective To explore the impacts of psychological status and somatic symptoms on quality of life and its mechanism among patients after surgery for aortic dissection, so as to provide a reference for developing targeted intervention plan. Methods A total of 327 patients after surgery for aortic dissection were investigated by using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-2), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), Somatic Symptom Scale-8 (SSS-8) and 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Hypotheses were proposed based on correlation analysis results, and structural equation model was analyzed using AMOS software. Results The SF-12 score of the patients after aortic dissection was (81.56±7.36) points, the score of GAD-2 was 2.00(0, 3.00) points, the score of PHQ-2 was 2.00(0, 3.00) points, and the score of SSS-8 was 5.00(2.00, 8.00) points.The score of GAD-2, PHQ-2 and SSS-8 had direct effects on the score of SF-12, and the score of GAD-2 and PHQ-2 had indirect effects on the score of SF-12 through the score of SSS-8 (P<0.05 for all). Conclusion The quality of life in patients after surgery for aortic dissection is at a medium and above level. Their psychological status and somatic symptoms should be dynamically assessed and monitored in early stage, and psychological intervention and symptom management should be carried out in time to improve their quality of life.