Aim: We conducted the present study to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among bone cancer patients after surgical treatment in one large teaching hospitals in China, and assess the risk factors for improving the physical or mental HRQoL. Methods: 344 eligible adult patients who were admitted to the hospital with malignant bone tumors during the period of Jun. 2008 to Dec. 2011, and a reference group with 361 health cases was recruited in the same hospital during the same period. All 344 patients were followed up for one year. The HRQoL before treatment and after one year was evaluated with the Medical Outcome Short Form 36 (SF-36). Results: All 8 domains of HRQoL had the lowest scores greatly improved over the first year after discharge. However, the patients still had significantly lower scores in every domain than the reference group one year after discharge. Age and type of surgery were associated with HRQoL in the mental domain. Conclusion: The HRQoL of patients with malignant bone tumors greatly improved one year after the treatment. This study also highlighted the utility of HRQoL assessment for prognostic evaluation of patients after surgical treatment for bone cancer.