Objective · To survey the willingness to enroll in nursing homes among the elders in Shanghai and explore its predictors. Methods · A field survey was performed to collect data from 641 elders aged 60 years old and above in six community health centers in Shanghai. Sociodemographic variables, willingness to use nursing home, perceived barriers and perceived benefits were measured. Results · The questionnaire is with good structural validity and good intrinsic reliability. KMO index, P value of Bartlett’s test of sphericity, and the range of Cronbach’s α coefficients were 0.862, 0.000, and 0.739-0.824, respectively. Among the respondents, 46% were willing to enroll in a nursing home in this survey. Age had significant influence on their willingness (P=0.045). After adjusting for age, the multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that shame (OR=0.76, 95% CI=0.620.94), adaptability (OR=0.61, 95% CI=0.50-0.74) and perceived benefits (OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.32-2.03) were related to willingness (P<0.05). Conclusion · Elders in Shanghai have a relatively high level of willingness to enroll in nursing homes, especially the elders aged from 60 to 69. Shame and adaptability of elders, and the services provided by nursing homes were the predictors of the elders’ willingness.