The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among the disease knowledge, anxiety, and patient's role behavior in patients with ischemic heart disease. It will provide the useful information in developing the individualized nursing intervention for patients with ischemic heart disease. The study design was a descriptive correlational study. The subjects of the study were 100 patients diagnosed as ischemic heart disease at the A university hospital located in Gyeonggi Province from May 19th to August 30th, 2008. The Knowledge Scale for a Patient with Ischemic Heart Disease by Kim (2003), the Anxiety Scale by Kim & Shin (1978), and the Sick Role Behavior Scale by Kim(1998) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS 11.1 program. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and pearson correlaion coefficient were utilized to examine the relationships and differences among variables. The findings of the study are summarized as follow: 1. The average score for knowledge about the ischemic heart disease was 0.71짹0.39(out of 1), 2.73짹0.88(out of 4) for anxiety level,and 3.42짹1.07(out of 5) for sick role behavior. 2. There was a statistically significant relation between the knowledge level and patient's sick role behavior (r=0.239 p=0.017). 3. In the Knowledge Scale, nearly all patients (96%) answered correctly to the question of 'moderate exercise is necessary for heart recovery'. Only 21% of patients gave a correct answer to a question of 'sexual activity is possible after heart attack'. 4. The mean score of sick role behavior scale was 3.42짹1.07(out of 5). The item of 'visiting hospital for regular check-ups' had the highest score of 4.01 (SD=1.09), while the item of 'weight loss' had the lowest score of 2.59 (SD=1.05). 5. Patients who were employed had significantly higher anxiety score than those who were not employed (t=2.946, p=0.004). 6. Patients who were female (t=-5.978, p=0.000), not married (t=-2.413, p=0.015), not employed (t=-4.899, p=0.000), had a low education level (F=2.413, p=0.002), had comorbidities (t=2.946, p=0.004), and had diagnosed a long time ago (t=-2.264, p=0.026) had a significantly high score in the sick role behavior scale. The results showed that the higher level of disease knowledge was significantly associated with better patient's sick role behavior. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the nursing interventions for improving the knowledge level in patients with ischemic heart disease.