IntroductionRapid population aging has made age discrimination against older adults increasingly prominent. However, empirical evidence on how age discrimination affects life satisfaction among Chinese older adults, and through which mechanisms, remains limited.MethodsUsing data from the 2021 China Social Survey (CSS), this study analyzed a sample of 840 older adults aged 60 and above. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and mediation analysis were employed to examine the direct effect of pe