Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To determine the prevalence of arthritis in middle- and old-aged populations in China and associated factors. Methods Data were drawn from the 2013 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of arthritis with social economic status (age, gender, areas, education), comorbidity (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, digestive disease, asthma), lifestyle (smoking, drinking, sleeping) and mental health (depression symptoms). Results About 30.8% of respondents reported arthritis. Those who resided in rural areas, drank regularly, and had depression symptoms, hypertension, chronic lung disease, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, digestive disease and asthma had higher prevalence of arthritis than others. Conclusion The prevalence of arthritis is high in middle- and old-aged populations in China, which deserves increasing attention.