Aim To explore whether the heart rate and heart rate variability relation to heart failure and prognosis. Methods The 245 chronic heart failure patients admitted in General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University between October 2010 and June 2012 were enrolled in this study. Mean heart rate at rest was categorized into predefined groups: A group （50～70 beats/min）, B group （71～90 beats/min）, and C group （＞90 beats/min）. After one year follow-up, the clinical data of 230 patients was collected. 97 patients among them performed a holter monitoring. Based on functional classifications, they were divided into class Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ group and 26 healthy one as comparison. Heart rate variability indexs including standard deviation of all normal RR interval （SDNN）, standard deviation of the 5 minute average RR interval （SDANN）, the percentage of intervals＞50 ms different from preceding interval （PNN50）, square root of the mean of the squares of successive RR interval differences （RMSSD） were collected. Results With increased heart rate, ejection fraction decreased significantly and readmission and mortality rised up at the end of follow-up.