Abstract: The silver-haired tourism group in China continues to expand and the frequency of its tourism activities continues to increase.It is particularly important to confirm the importance of active ageing,to clarify the mechanism of tourism for active ageing and to suggest ways to stimulate its positive effects in a period of rapid ageing in China.This study uses a conceptual model of tourism as a catalyst for active ageing,taking the silver-haired group as the target group,incorporating active ageing theory,using interview methods to obtain primary data,and employing grounded theory.The findings show that tourism influences active ageing through four dimensions：physical and mental health,social capital,well-being and self-actualisation,and follows the developmental pattern of tourism→social capital→physical and mental health→self-actualisation→well-being→active ageing.The article not only enriches the theory of active ageing,but also provides corresponding suggestions for the government and tourism enterprises.

Key words: tourism, active ageing, grounded theory, mechanism of action