The objective of the presented study was to characterize patients of a home hospice with the use of the following variables: gender, age, place of residence, medical diagnosis according to ICD-10, somatic and psychological symptoms. The study was based on secondary sources of information concerning the health situation of the population – medical records of patients benefitting from home hospice care in Łask in the period from 1 January 2004 - 31 December 2007. The study covered 150 patients (88 males and 62 females), aged 36-96; mean age 68.1; 65.8 - among males and 70.3 - among females. 42.7% of the patients in the study lived in urban areas, whereas 57.3% were rural inhabitants. All the patients covered by home hospice care suffered from cancer. The most frequent diagnosis was carcinoma of the bronchial tube and lungs (12.6%), followed by gastric cancer (8.6%), breast cancer (8.0%) and cancer of the prostate gland (6.6%). The quality of life of patients during the terminal stage was determined by somatic symptoms, especially pain, and self-reported psychological feelings. Home hospice care has a positive impact on the quality of life in the terminal phase due to the provision of specialized medical and nursing care and controlling the symptoms of the disease