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Aim The present study was intended to establish the reference intervals of β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and osteocalcin for very elderly (aged 80 years or more) Chinese men. Methods A total of 1316 very elderly Chinese men were recruited into the study, and subjected to a survey of clinical characteristics, measurements of bone mineral density and assays of bone turnover markers. The relationships between underlying diseases and bone turnover markers were investigated, and the reference intervals of β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and osteocalcin for very elderly Chinese men were established through defining the central 95% range of all observations. Results We found that type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and abnormal bone mass were associated with serum bone turnover markers ( P < 0.01), and thereby identified 208 men without type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and/or abnormal bone mass as healthy participants from 1316 very elderly Chinese men. The reference intervals for very elderly Chinese men were 0.13-0.63 ng/mL for β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, 18-94 ng/mL for procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and 9-28 ng/mL for osteocalcin, respectively. The three turnover markers were moderately correlated to each other ( P < 0.001), and all negatively associated with the bone mineral density of three sites ( P < 0.05). Conclusions We have established the reference intervals of β-C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide and osteocalcin for very elderly Chinese men. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 773-778. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]