Objective
To identify the socioeconomic factors leading to disparities in participation in leisure activities over the life course among Chinese oldest‐old people.
Methods
Data are from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a sample of adults aged 80 years or older in the period 1998‐2012, featuring 38 312 individuals (58 945 observations).
Results
The younger birth cohorts were found to have significantly higher levels of participation in leisure activities, with a non‐linear decrease in age observed for oldest‐old men and women. Higher participation levels were significantly related to higher education levels, economic independence and non‐manual occupations before retirement among the Chinese oldest‐old.
Conclusions
Leisure activity participation has increased substantially in recent cohorts of Chinese oldest‐olds. Those with lower socioeconomic status may represent a disadvantaged population in terms of participation in leisure activities over their life course.