Objective To construct health poverty vulnerability risk index system for rural elderly chronic patients.Methods Through literature review, semi-structured interviews, on-site survey, expert consultation, and the analytic hierarchy,the health poverty vulnerability risk indicators and the weights of each indicator were identified for rural elderly chronic patients.Results The response rates of the 2 rounds expert consultation were 100% and 94.1%, the expert authority coefficients were 0.918 and 0.928, and the Kendall coordination coefficients were 0.201 and 0.242 (both P＜0.05).The final health poverty vulnerability risk index system for rural elderly chronic patients included 6 primary indicators, 19 secondary indicators, and 78 tertiary indicators.Conclusion The health poverty vulnerability risk index system for rural elderly chronic patients has good reliability and rationality, and it can provide references for identifying and coping with the health poverty and vulnerability risks for rural elderly chronic patients.