Examined the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Persian Gulf War (GW) veterans, and the effects of current chronic medical conditions and psychiatric status on physical functioning. To measure HRQoL, the Medical Outcomes Short Form Survey (SF36) was administered approximately 4 yrs after the GW to a stratified, random sample of 141 New England-area GW-deployed veterans and a group of 46 military personnel deployed to Germany during the GW. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors associated with lower physical health functioning in the GW-deployed study group. Functional health status was significantly lower in the GW-deployed group compared with the Germany-deployed group for each of the SF36 subscales and 2 summary scores. Compared with the general U.S. population, the GW-deployed group median was between the 25th and 50th percentile for the Physical Functioning subscale and the PCS score. Within the GW-deployed group, lower education, psychological symptomatology, and a higher number of chronic self-reported medical conditions were significant predictors of the PCS score