Objective To explore the effect of Chinese shadow boxing exercise on long-term quality of life in middle-aged and elderly patients with primary hypertension. Methods 60 cases of middle-aged and elderly patients with primary hypertension were randomly divided into two groups :30 cases in observation group and 30 cases in control group. The observation group performed The quality of life was surveyed by using SF-36 and compared between the two groups 5 years later. Results In patients' quality of life, observation group was significantly higher than control group (P < 0. 01 ). Conclusions Shadow boxing exercise is helpful to control the hypertension and release tension emotion in order to improve quality of life in middle-aged and elderly patients with primary hypertension. Key words: Shadow Boxing; Primary Hypertension; Quality of life