Goals. When thyroid and other cancers are cured it is often assumed that the patients are able to resume their normal lives. This was a cross-sectional study to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and to identify rehabilitation needs of patients with non-metastatic thyroid cancer under thyroxine supplementation therapy. Patients and methods. Included in the study were 150 consecutive patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (age 5214years, range 2583years; male/female 39/111). All patients had a history of total thyroidectomy followed by radioiodine ablation, were free of metastatic disease and under levothyroxine treatment. The mean period since the diagnosis of thyroid cancer was 5.56years (range 023years). Health-related quality of life was evaluated using the SF-36 Health Survey. The findings were compared with sex- and age-matched reference values. Results. Role-emotional and Vitality were significantly lower (P0.001 and P0.005, respectively) in the group as a whole (n=150). In the subgroup of patients with a recent (less than 1year) diagnosis of thyroid cancer (n=51), however, the following subscales were significantly lower: Mental Health (P0.01), Role-emotional (P0.001), Role-physical (P0.005), Social functioning (P0.005) and Vitality (P0.001). Multiple regression analysis identified a significant positive correlation between Mental Health, Physical functioning, Vitality, Role-emotional and Social functioning with the time since initial diagnosis, and there was also a positive correlation between Physical functioning, Bodily pain and Role-emotional with male gender. Conclusions. These findings indicate that Vitality, Role-physical, Mental Health, Role-emotional and Social functioning are significantly impaired during the first year after diagnosis. Thereafter, quality of life improves correlating with the time since initial diagnosis. However, Vitality and Role-emotional remain permanently impaired in thyroid cancer patients. A multidisciplinary rehabilitation concept should include psychological support and an early start to exercise to improve physical performance of these patients leading to better HRQOL and to help them fulfill their social role earlier.