The purpose of this study was to examine household food insecurity and the associations of food insecurity with socioeconomic characteristics, food behaviors, health status and nutrient intake among elderly people in a rural area. This study included 191 elderly people (mean age = $72.0{pm}7.4$) in Jeollabuk-do, Jangsu-gun. House food insecurity was measured using an adapted version of the USDA short form household food insecurity scale, and nutrient intake measured by a 24-hour dietary recall. Only 15.2% of the subjects were in food-insecure households, 84.8% of the elderly households were food-secure. The food-insecure households were significantly lower in the number of family, frequency of shopping, and perceived health status than the food-secure households. In addition, they had serious tooth problems and NSI (Nutrition Screening Index) scores. Food-insecure households were significantly lower in most areas of nutrient intake (energy, protein, fat, Ca, P, Fe, K, Na, Zn, Vit. $B_2$, niacin, Vit. E), and also lower in nutrient intake compared to dietary reference intake (energy, protein, P, Fe, K, Na, Vit. $B_1$, Vit. $B_2$, niacin, Vit. E). These results suggest that the household food insecurity measures used in this study were an important indicator of nutritional well-being among elderly persons in the rural area. Food insecurity should be considered an important issue to public health and food service programs should be expanded for food-insecure households in rural areas.