The purpose of this study was to examine what factors affected patients who suffered from essential hypertension compliance with health behaviors, to help build a successful strategy to step up their compliance with health behaviors, and to seek effective ways to implement health education programs for patients with chronic disease. The subjects in this study were 60 people selected from among the patients who were diagnosed by physicians as having essential hypertension in S General Hospital in the city of P from April 10 through July 30, 2000, after health education was provided four times a month. The quasi- experimental design based on a control group pretest-posttest design was employed. The subjects were divided into three groups of 20 patients each： one was an experimental group to receive education in one-to-one interview, another was an experimental group to receive education as a group, and the third was a control group. The two experimental groups learned the same material through different methods, and the control group was given the same teaching materials and asked to comply with health behaviors on their own without instruction. After the three-week education was implemented in different ways, their compliance with health behaviors was measured. Collected data was analyzed by t-test, paired test, one-way analysis of variance, correlation analysis and regression analysis procedures. The findings of this study were as follows： 1. Concerning the effective type of health education, the group education produced the best results, followed by the one-to-one interviews and the sole use of print media. 2. Regarding the effect of compliance with health behaviors, the group- educated group got the highest score in compliance with health behaviors, but blood pressure lowered more significantly in the individual interview group. And the compliance with health behaviors had a significant negative correlational relationship with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 3. Parameter that had most significant correlational relationship with compliance with health behaviors was health locus of control, followed by self-efficacy and health perception. But there was no significant correlational relationship between compliance with health behaviors and knowledge of hypertension. 4. As a result of analyzing the impact of knowledge of hypertension, health locus of control, self-efficacy and health perception on compliance with health behaviors, self-efficacy was found to exercise most influence. Above-mentioned findings suggested that group education or one- to-one discussion would be more effective for health care for hypertension in koreans, as they could serve to have patients realize their own responsibility for health and to motivate their compliance with health behaviors, and there was a need to more positively utilize educational intervention for patients with chronic diseases, which could elevate not only compliance with health behaviors but self-efficacy.