PurposeThe occurrence of diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) in women was growing in recent years. Although in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) became an effective treatment for DOR, the live-birth (LB) rate remains unsatisfactory. This study aimed to investigate the impact factors of LB rate in women with DOR undergoing assisted reproduction.MethodsThis was a single-center retrospective cohort study. A total of 2277 IVF-ET or ICSI cycles from 1957 DOR women were analysed. Impact factors of LB rate were explored via Student’s t test, Pearson’s Chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression models.ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in maternal age (P < 0.001), duration of infertility (P < 0.001), female body mass index (P = 0.039), first IVF cycle (P = 0.004), poor ovarian response (P < 0.001), paternal age (P < 0.001), total gonadotropin dose (P = 0.010), endometrial thickness (P = 0.021), number of follicles ≥ 14 mm (P = 0.007), number of oocytes retrieved (P < 0.001), number of frozen embryos (P = 0.014), and the stage (P < 0.001) and number (P < 0.001) of embryos transferred between the non-live-birth (NLB) and LB groups. However, only factors of maternal age, the stage and number of embryos transferred remained different after adjusting for potential confounders.ConclusionsMaternal age, the stage and number of embryos transferred were independent impact factors affecting the live-birth rate in women with DOR seeking for assisted conception.