Profound changes are affecting life at older ages in Britain, but the extent to which their impact might vary across different ethnic groups has rarely been studied. This study set out to investigate inequalities in the circumstances of older ethnic people, using a broad conceptualisation of quality of life. The study was conducted in two phases. The first used respondents to the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities to draw a sample for a qualitative interview. This focussed on ethnic differences in influences on and levels of quality of life, relating this to the circumstances and biographies of respondents. The second involved secondary analysis of the Fourth National Survey data to explore levels of inequality across ethnic groups. Both elements of the study focussed on four ethnic groups: Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani and white.