The subjective health status of hepatitis C patients has been relatively poorly studied. By using the Short Form 36 (SF-36), health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed in a group of 42 hepatitis C patients. In all nine scales examined, the scores were generally low, and present drug use and being single were associated with especially large reductions in HRQOL. Compared with the Norwegian norms, scores were lower across all nine scales and significantly lower in eight. The study showed that the hepatitis C patients had definite reductions in HRQOL, but the impairment could not be fully explained by their hepatitis. Different non-viral factors such as drug use and marital status significantly influenced the results. This underlines the importance of taking other factors into account when studying the health status of hepatitis C patients.