This study was conducted to find out the relationship among several variables such as health status, self-efficacy, health related hardiness, family support and pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The subjects were 108 patients with rheumatoid arthritis who visited the out patient department of Rheumatism at E university hospital in Teajon. Data were collected by questionnaire from November 26, 1999 to January 14, 2000. The instrument used in this study were health status developed by Bae et al(1998), self-efficacy scale developed by KRHPS, health related hardiness modified by Suh(1988), family support scale developed by Kang(1984), Pain with graphic rating scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson Correlation Coefficient, multiple regression using the SPSS Win program. The results were as follows; 1. There were no statistically significant differences between general characteristics and variables such as health status, self-efficacy, health related hardiness and family support respectively. 2. Statistically significant differences were not found between clinical characteristic and variables such as health status, self-efficacy, health related hardiness and family support respectively. 3. Significant correlations were found between health status and self-efficacy, self-efficacy and hardiness, hardiness and family support, health status and pain, self-efficacy and pain respectively(p<0.01), and health status and hardiness, self-efficacy and family support, hardiness and pain respectively(p<0.05). 4. Self-efficacy and pain were significant affecting factors of a health status. In these results, it is suggested that nursing intervention to increase self-efficacy and to reduce pain was very important for patients with rheumatoid arthritis.