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Background Cutaneous dermatomyositis (DM) disease activity is associated with a decreased quality of life. Objectives This prospective study assessed if an improvement in quality of life, as measured by the Skindex-29 and patient-reported itch and pain on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS), correlated with an improvement in cutaneous DM disease activity. Methods Patients with a completed cutaneous DM disease area and severity index (CDASI) at two visits separated by at least two months were classified into responder (n=15) and non-responder (n=30) groups according to the point change in the CDASI activity scores between visits. Responders had at least a four-point improvement in CDASI activity, indicating clinically relevant improvement. Results The change from baseline to the follow-up visit of the Skindex-29 subscale scores for the responders versus the non-responders were significantly different: emotions P=0.0047, functioning P=0.0026, and symptoms P<0.0001. The change in VAS score between responders and non-responders was also significant for itch (P=0.0135) and pain (P=0.0367). The was no significant difference between the groups in terms of disease subtype, sex, race, age, treatment for DM, smoking history, or history of malignancy within five years of DM diagnosis. Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that the quality of life of patients with DM improved as their cutaneous disease activity decreased.