Purpose: The aim of this paper was to determinate the factors that affect physical activity of community-dwelling elders. Methods: A cross-sectional approach was used to explore factors promoting physical activity. Participants were 203 individuals aged 65 years and over living in either the C or D cities. Each participant completed a questionnaire which included the Korean Version of Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (K-PASE), geriatric depression, fear of falling and mini mental state examination Data were collected from July, 20 to August, 30, 2015 and statistical analysis was used to examine the participant characteristics, physical activity differences according to characteristics, correlation between physical activity and research variables, and factors affecting the physical activity. Results: The mean score for K-PASE was 106.00±67.49. K-PASE showed significantly negative correlations with depression (r=-.16, p=.026) and fear of falling (r=-.31, p<.001) and a positive correlation with cognitive function (r=.37, p<.001). In regression analysis, factors influencing the physical activity were age, educational level and cognitive function. Explanatory rate of these factors for K-PASE was 21.0%. Conclusion: Findings from the study indicate that the physical activity programs should include intervention strategies to enhance cognitive function while considering age and education level.