A major purpose of this survey was to describe the impact of inflammatory bowel disease on the daily life of 150 nonhospitalized adults. A complementary purpose was to examine patient characteristics and their relationship to perceived impact. Self-report questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data. Most patients reported a low to moderate impact of the disease on daily life. Greatest impact was reported in the areas of elimination, worry, recreation and leisure activities, sleep and rest. Among patient characteristics that correlated positively with the impact variable were age, under 35 years, female gender, depressed mood, and affective-oriented coping style. The findings suggest that nurses and other health professionals may enhance patient adaptation and life satisfaction by focusing efforts on patient characteristics that are amenable to change and on areas of life where the disease impact is experienced most intensively.