The study aims to explore the mechanism of anxiety between activities of daily living and marital satisfaction，and to provide a theoretical basis for improving the marriage quality among older adults. A convenience sampling method was used to select 419 older adults aged ≥60 years from Taiyuan，Jinzhong， Yuncheng，and Jincheng cities in Shanxi Province as research subjects. Questionnaires were conducted using the Barthel Index，Self-Rating Anxiety Scale，and the marital satisfaction subscale of the ENRICH Marital Inventory. Results indicated that the score of activities of daily living among older adults was 100 （95.0， 100.0），the score of anxiety was 40（33.8，45.0），and the score of marital satisfaction was 39（32.0，46.0）. There was a positive correlation between activities of daily living and marital satisfaction. The mediating analysis revealed that anxiety played a complete mediating role in the impact of activities of daily living on marital satisfaction. These findings suggest that alleviating anxiety can enhance marital satisfaction among older adults experiencing declines in activities of daily living.