Objective. To examine the life expectancy, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs), and causes of death in 6 groups of patients from Hong Kong with different rheumatic diseases.Methods 7 years). In male patients, the loss in life expectancy was highest for SV (28.3 years), SLE (27 years), and SSc (16 years). There were 2,486 deaths during the study period (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), and the principal causes were infections (28%), cardiovascular complications (18%), cancer (16%), and disease activity (7%). Infection was the leading cause of death in SLE, RA, AS, and PsA, whereas deaths from disease-related activity and cardiovascular complications were most frequent in SSc. Cancer was the most common cause of death in SV. Conclusion.Our findings indicate that patients with SLE, RA, AS, PsA, SV, and SSc have increased mortality rates and reduced life expectancy. SLE has the highest adjusted SMR, and female SSc patients have the greatest loss in life expectancy. Infection is the leading cause of death, followed by cardiovascular complications and malignancies.