Chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis is believed to induce a significant psychosocial stressors. The concept of illness intrusiveness-illness induced life style disruptions-was hypothesized to affect psychosocial status. And demographic, socioeconomic, disease and social characteristics were hypotehsized to affect illness intrusiveness. Hierarchial multiple regression analyses were used. As a result, among the demographic factors gender was identified as contributor to directly increase the psychosocial stress and education level was identified to affect the psychosocial stress through illness intrusiveness. Among socioeconomic factors, the burden about the cost of medical treatment was found to indirectly affect the psychosocial stress through the illness intrusiveness. Also income and job were found to affect directly the psychosocial status. Among the disease characteristics, only the pain level was identified to increase the psychosocial stress through the illness intrusiveness. Among the social characteristics, perceived social support is identified to increase the psychosocial stress through the illness intrusiveness. Based upon these results, some suggestions were made for minimizing illness intrusiveness in rheumatoid arthritis and future research.