Objective: Assessing the functional capacity in day-to-day basic activities of elderly people attended to in a Family Health Unit.Methodology: Current transversal study with 76 elderly people was undertaken between September and November 2014 in a Family Health Unit in the town of Nova Russas CE Brazil. The elderly people were interviewed and information on socio-demographic characteristics, health status and the performance of daily basic activities was collected. Data were described and analyzed with EpiInfo 7 and R v2.10.0. Results:The population studied was mostly composed of females (63.1%), aged between 70 and 79 years old (68.4%), widows or widowers (63.2%), with 3-4 dependent people at home (60.6%); 96% of the elderly people may be considered independent. Conclusion:Results show that most elderly people are independent in their daily basic activities.