Background: Longevity is increasing, accompanied by a rise in disability and chronic diseases with physical activity (PA) delaying disability, ensuring successful ageing (SA) and independent living in older adults.

Aim: This study aimed to determine objectively measure PA levels, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), life-space mobility and SA of older adults as well as their mutual associations.

Setting: KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

Methods: A total of 210 older adults aged 65–92 years were purposively sampled and completed the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, the Life-Space Mobility, and Successful Ageing questionnaires. Physical activity levels were measured using an Omron Pedometer, which the participants wore for seven consecutive days.

Results: The average number of steps taken per day for the 7 days was 2025, with 98.6% of the entire study population classified as sedentary. The Vitality domain (one of 8 categorised) reflected the best health status (M= 59.9, sd±18.8) with a significant 93% of the participants indicating that they had not visited places outside their immediate neighbourhood (p< 0.0005). A significant, negative association between the average number of steps taken in 7 days and all three SA variables, namely, the physical (r=–0.152, p= 0.027), sociological (r=–0.148, p= 0.032) and psychological (r=–0.176, p= 0.010), and a significant, positive association with life-space mobility (r= 0.224, p= 0.001) was noted.

Conclusion: The majority of the older adults were sedentary, affecting their HRQoL, life-space mobility, and SA negatively.

Contribution: It is imperative to develop effective physical activity programmes to ensure successful ageing by improving older adults’ quality of life and physical activity levels.