Objective To evaluate the effect of health education on the compliance and health status of epileptic patients after discharge. Methods A total of 88 patients with epilepsy were selected and divided into control group (January to June in 2014) and experimental group (July to December in 2014) with 44 patients each. During hospitalization, the patients in control group were given routine health education, discharge guidance, on the basis of the control group, the patients in experimental group were added health education after discharge. The health status were evaluated at the time of admission and discharge (1 days before discharge) and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after discharge. The medication compliance and clinical efficacy of the two groups were evaluated at 12 months after discharge. Results The medication compliance at 12 months after discharge was 97.73%(43/44) in experimental group and 63.64% (28/44) in control group, and there was significant difference (χ2=15.92, P 0.05), there were significant differences in the health status at 1, 3, 6, 12 months after discharge between two groups, treatment effect, time effect, interaction effect (F =57.50, 5.69, 8.35, P<0.01). Conclusions Health education after discharge can improve the medication compliance, health status and clinical efficacy of patients with epilepsy and promote their rehabilitation. Key words: Epilepsy; Medication adherence; Health education; Intervention studies