ObjectivePoor awareness of illness in anorexia nervosa (AN) may render the assessment of health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) difficult. We aimed at evaluating severe AN patients' HRQoL at discharge using different instruments and correlating this measure with clinical variables. MethodsWe enrolled 71 adult AN inpatients admitted through the emergency department. At admission, all participants completed the following: Medical Outcome Short Form Health Survey, Eating Disorder Inventory‐2 and Temperament and Character Inventory. At admission and discharge, body mass index, EuroQoL Health Questionnaire/Visual Analogue Scale and Clinical Global Impression were evaluated. ResultsThe HRQoL was severely impaired at baseline, but it improved at discharge. HRQoL correlated with eating psychopathology and personality, but not with body mass index or Clinical Global Impression. ConclusionThe HRQoL effectively captured patients' improvement at discharge. Given its correlations with clinical variables, this instrument may be useful in clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.