Aim The aim of the present study was to develop and validate an ultra‐short Spanish version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) in an elderly Chilean population. Methods The OHIP‐49Sp was applied to 490 older adults, and the seven questions with the higher impact on oral health‐related quality of life were selected through linear regression. These items were applied to 85 older adults to test internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha). A discriminative validity analysis was carried out along with the assessment of sociodemographic and clinical variables. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U‐test, Student's t‐test and one‐way anova tests with a 95% confidence level. Results High internal consistency values were obtained for the OHIP‐7Sp instrument (0.93). There was an association between the OHIP‐7Sp scores and the presence of caries, need for complex periodontal treatment, prosthetic needs, and age younger than 70 years. Conclusion The OHIP‐7Sp proved to be a consistent and valid tool to assess oral health‐related quality of life in Chilean older adults, and can be incorporated in epidemiological studies that include several other targets. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 277–285.