Objective To understand the quality of life and the social capital of patients living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH), so as to analyze the key factors of social capital that affect the life quality of PLWH. Methods Accidental sampling was used to choose a total of 377 PLWH in Zhoushan city of Zhejiang province, Nanchang and Pingxiang of Jiangxi province. The questionnaires included basic situation survey, a simple health condition survey questionnaire (SF-36) and the social capital questionnaire. The survey was carried out by face-to-face. The Epidata 3.1 and the SPSS 17.0 were used for data input and statistical analysis, respectively. The multiple linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the effect of social capital on PLWH life quality. Results A total of 368 questionnaires were finally completed, with an effective response rate of 97.61%. Scores of each dimension and total scores of the social capital and quality of life of PLWH were lower, with the social capital score of PLWH being 4.94±1.94 (full score:10) and quality of life score being 64.71±13.49 (full score:100), significantly lower than the national norm(P<0.01). It was found that the access to resources, trust and social participation were the factors influencing the PLWH quality of life. Conclusion PLWH have an unsatisfactory quality of life and low social capital, and social capital has an effect on the life quality of PLWH.