Objective To retrospectively investigate the disease constitution of no less than 60-year-old inpatients in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University in 2011, and to compare with the outpatients in the corresponding period, so as to provide baseline data for further study. Methods The inpatients’ information in 2011 was collected from hospital information system (HIS). The diseases were classified according to ICD-10 based on the first discharge diagnosis. Data rearrangement and analysis were carried out by Microsoft Excel software. Results a) The person time of no less than 60-year-old inpatients were 47 233 in 2011, accounted for 30.35% of all inpatients in the corresponding period. b) The top ten systematic diseases were neoplasm, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, eyes, factors influencing health status and contacting with health services, genitourinary, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, nervous, and injury, poisoning and other consequences of external causes diseases, respectively. c) The male inpatients were more than the female who suffering from the top ten systematic diseases, except for eyes, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue disease. d) Except for respiratory disease, the number of inpatients who suffered from the other top ten systematic diseases got decreased with age increasing. e) Neoplasm was the most common disease, and the person time of malignant neoplasm inpatients was 10 467 (91.93%). f) The cumulative constituent ratio of the top three malignant neoplasms was 75.43%, including malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, respiratory and intrathoracic organs as well as lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissues. g) The top five malignant neoplasms of digestive organs accounted for 87.81%, including malignant neoplasms of rectum, stomach, oesophagus, liver and intrahepatic bile ducts as well as colon. h) The bronchus and lung malignant neoplasms accounted for 90.4% of all malignant neoplasms of respiratory and intrathoracic organs inpatients. i) The cumulative constituent ratio of the top four malignant neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissues was 84.45%, including multiple myeloma and malignant plasma cell neoplasms, other and unspecified types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloid leukaemia, and diffuse non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Conclusion The male inpatients are more than female in the West China Hospital of Sichuan University in 2011. Most inpatients are at age from 60 to 79 years old. The most common systematic disease is neoplasm, especially the malignant neoplasms with higher constituent ratio, of which the malignant neoplasms of digestive organs, respiratory and intrathoracic organs, and lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissues were more common than others.