BACKGROUND The number of elderly patients with kidney disease is increasing rapidly, and we often encounter situations in which we need to weigh the benefits and risks of kidney biopsy (KBx). The decision is often difficult because reports addressing the safety and utility of KBx in the elderly are scarce. METHODS This observational study included 548 consecutive adult patients who underwent native KBx. We divided the patients into an E group, elderly patients 65 years or older, and an NE group, the remaining nonelderly patients. Baseline characteristics and complications of KBx were compared between the two groups. We also investigated the proportions of patients in whom steroid and/or immunosuppressive treatment was started after KBx. RESULTS There were 112 patients in the E group and 436 in the NE group. The baseline values differed significantly between the groups for age (71.5 ± 4.7 vs. 39.6 ± 13.9 years), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (41.4 ± 27.1 vs. 72.0 ± 33.7 ml/min/1.73 m 2 ), proportion of patients with diabetes (25.0% vs. 4.8%), and proportion of those who underwent surgical KBx (11.6% vs 3.0%), There was no significant difference in terms of sex.The E group experienced slightly more major complications (4.0% vs. 1.2%, p=0.05) but fewer minor complications (2.0% vs. 6.0%, p=0.10) with percutaneous KBx than the NE group did, although neither major nor minor complications occurred in patients who underwent surgical KBx. Final diagnoses after KBx, such as IgA nephropathy, IgA vasculitis, and ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis, were associated with various clinical diagnoses, indicating that the final diagnoses could not have been obtained without KBx. Treatment with steroid and/or immunosuppressant was required to a high degree in patients with ANCA-associated glomerulonephritis and minimal change disease after histologic evaluation by KBx. CONCLUSIONS The risk of KBx in the elderly patients was significantly higher than that in the non-elderly, and some diagnoses could not have been obtained without KBx. Thus, as long as nephrologists perform KBx cautiously according to strict indications, KBx can be a safe and useful option in the management of kidney disease in the elderly.