Objective To investigate the rehabilitation status of patients with cerebral apoplexy at different ages six months after discharge from hospital. Methods Using the Barthel Index, the Modified Rivermead Mobility Index, the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, and a self-designed rehabilitation exercise questionnaire, we conducted a cross-sectional investigation on the daily living ability, mobility, depression, and self-rehabilitation exercise of 207 stroke patients six months after discharge, who were discharged from the Rehabilitation Department of West China Hospital of Sichuan University between April 2017 and July 2019. The rehabilitation status of young and middle-aged (≥20 and <60 years old) stroke patients and elderly (≥60 years old) stroke patients were compared. Results There were 91 elderly patients and 116 young and middle-aged patients. Six months after discharge, the incidences of dysfunction in daily living ability (97.8% vs. 90.5%; χ2=4.598, P=0.032) and depression (51.2% vs. 36.2%; χ2=4.043, P=0.044) were higher in the elderly patients than those in the young and middle-aged patients, and the mobility score (26.38±9.77 vs. 29.47±10.60; t=2.154, P=0.032) and the proportion of patients taking self-rehabilitation exercise (93.4% vs. 100.0%; χ2=5.708, P=0.017) were lower in the elderly patients than those in the young and middle-aged patients. Conclusions In the process of continued rehabilitation nursing, different rehabilitation nursing measures should be implemented according to different ages, focusing on elderly stroke patients, and strengthening the supervision and promotion of rehabilitation training of daily living ability and mobility, psychological nursing and self-rehabilitation exercise compliance of elderly patients.