In the context of the national strategy to proactively confront population aging, the mental health of the elderly has emerged as a critical public health concern. As the primary spatial setting for the daily lives of the elderly, the built environment of residential areas exerts a long-term infl uence on their psychological well-being. This research selected four residential neighborhoods in Guangzhou as study sites to empirically examine the relationship between built environment indicators and the mental health of senior residents. The fi ndings indicate notable variations in the mental health status of elderly individuals from diverse residential areas. Residential areas within a ten-minute living circle, especially commercial residential areas, more eff ectively promote the well-being of the elderly and mitigate psychological distress. Conversely, residential areas within a fi fteen-minute living radius, esp ecially natural villages, generally correspond to lower happiness levels among the elderly and more pronounced psychological distress. The relationship between elderly mental health indicators (happiness index and psychological distress) and relevant indicators of the built environment of residential areas is as follows: four indicators of built environment elements, including green space ratio, bus stop density, accessibility to public transportation, and parks, have signifi cant correlations with both the happiness index and psychological distress of the elderly. Other element indicators (such as intersection density and land use mix) are correlated only with the happiness index, whereas the remaining element indicators (building density, service facility density, and green view ratio) show no signifi cant correlation with either mental health indicator. Further regression analysis indicates that the psychological distress index has a negative impact only on the green space ratio, whereas the happiness index model showed poor goodness of fi t. The research results provide empirical data on quantitative indicators for planning and constructing age-friendly residential areas.