Objective To construct discharge planning for elderly patients with ostomy based on theory of goal attainment and verify the effectiveness. Methods Based on the “Theory of Goal Attainment”，we combined with the best clinical evidence and patient’s needs，and constructed the discharge planning for elderly patients with colostomy. Thirty-nine patients from April to June 2021 were in the control group and received routine care. Another 38 patients from July to October 2021 were in the experimental group，which discharge planning based on Theory of Goal Attainment was adopted. All of them come from the gastrointestinal surgery department of a hospital in Zhengzhou. After intervention，the discharge readiness，patient engagement degree of the two groups were compared，and the incidence of ostomy-related complications at discharge，the 4th and 12th week after surgery were compared between the two groups. Results At discharge，the discharge readiness score，health care participation score in the experimental group were higher than control group（P<0.05）. The incidence of ostomy-related complications in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group at the 4th week after surgery（P<0.05），but there was no significant difference in the incidence of ostomy-related complications between the two groups at discharge and the 12th week after surgery（P=0.615，P=0.313）. Conclusion Discharge planning based on the theory of goal attainment can improve the level of discharge readiness and patients’ participation，reduce the incidence of postoperative complications at the earlier stage after discharge.