Objective To explore the effect of motivational interviewing (MI) on medication compliance and self-management behaviors of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods Between April 2013 and May 2015, 200 cases of CHF were randomly divided into control group (n=98) and MI group (n=102). Patients in the control group received routine nursing measures only. On the basis of routine nursing measures, patients in the MI group received MI program throughout the whole process inside and outside the hospital. The main contents of MI were medication compliance and self-management, to find the existing problems in patients’ daily living and make solutions with the patients. At the time of admission and 6 months after discharge, the Compliance Scale for Drug Treatment of Hypertension and the Self-management Scale for Patients with Heart Failure were conducted to asses the medication compliance and self-management behaviors of the two groups. Results Six months after discharge, the compliance level in the MI group was improved than that on admission with a significant difference (P<0.05), while the medication compliance in the control group was not improved significantly compared with that on admission (P>0.05). In the aspect of self-management, there was no significant difference in the control group between 6 months after discharge and on admission time (P>0.05); while the scores of diet management, drug management, symptom management, and psychological and social adjustment in the MI group (12.9±2.5, 16.1±2.8, 17.3±3.1, 17.0±2.4, respectively) were higer than those on admission (9.9±1.9, 13.3±2.7, 13.7±2.6, 12.8±2.2, respectively), with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion MI can prompt CHF patients to improve medication compliance and the ability of self-management, and adopt a more healthy lifestyle.