Objective To investigate the value of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), soluble ST2 (sST2) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in evaluating the cardiac function of patients with chronic heart failure ( HF). Methods A total of 70 in patients with chronic heart failure were divided into class H ( n = 24) and V ( n = 46) according to the NYHA class. Another 31 patients with hypertension or cardiac arrhythmias were recruited as the control group. Heart function, GDF-15, sST2 and BNP were detected by echocardiography , ELISA method and BNP bedside detector,respectively. Results Compared with control group,the levels of GDF-15,sST2,BNP,left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were higher, and the levels of left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) and relative wall thickness (RWT) were lower in the HF group, and the differences were statistically significant ( all P <0.01). Compared with NYHA H HF patients,the levels of GDF-15,sST2,BNP,LVEDD and LVMI were higher,the levels of LVEF and RWT were lower in NYHA V HF patients, and the differences were statistically significant (all P <0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that ssT2,GDF-15 and BNP were positively correlated with LVMI and NY- HA class ( r = 0. 351, 0. 236, 0. 449 ; 0. 339, 0. 305 , 0. 579; all P < 0. 05 ), while were negatively correlated with RWT and LVEF (r= -0.380, -0.255, -0.496; -0.257, -0.298, -0.409; all P<0.05). GDF-15 and sST2 were positively correlated with BNP (r = Q. 289 , 0. 300; all P < 0. 05 ). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under curve of NYHA H and NYHA ^ with BNP , GDF-15 and sST were 0. 852 , 0.678 and 0. 706 , respectively (all P <0. 05). Conclusion The levels of GDF-15 , sST and BNP are closely related with cardiac functional status in patients with chronic HF , and they all may reflect the severity of the patients' condition, but BNP has a higher sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of cardiac function in HF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]