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Aim: This study was designed to investigate the longitudinal effect of participating in a self‐management program (SMP) on renal function control in patients receiving hemodialysis. Methods: This randomized controlled trial enrolled a total of 58 patients at the hemodialysis center of a teaching hospital in Taiwan. The control group (n = 30) received the usual care and the experimental group (n = 28) received a 4‐week SMP intervention. The results of the follow‐up on the longitudinal data at 3, 6, and 9 months showed that the renal function indices, potassium and phosphorus levels, and interdialytic weight gain were significantly better than at the pre‐test for the experimental group. Results: In terms of the interaction between group and time, the potassium level dropped significantly below the pre‐test value only after 3 months (B = −0.31, SE = 0.15, p =.044), suggesting that the post‐test potassium level had significantly decreased after 3 months. In terms of the interaction between group and time, the phosphorus level dropped significantly below the pre‐test value only after 6 months (B = −0.53, SE = 0.28, p =.050), suggesting that the post‐test phosphorus level significantly decreased after 6 months. Finally, the intervention could effectively control the weight change between dialysis sessions for up to 9 months (B = −1.34, SE = 0.30, p <.001). Conclusions: The SMP intervention decreased potassium and phosphorus levels and helped control interdialytic weight gain in patients undergoing hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]