Abstract Objective To analyze factors for cognitive impairment in epileptic patients. Methods A total of 257 epileptic patients completed clinical memory scale (CMS) and 70 of them were further surveyed with mini‐mental state examination (MMSE), Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), digital symbol test (DSy), verbal fluency test, digit span test (DSp), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA) and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD). Monadic linear related analysis and multiple stepwise regression analysis were performed to evaluate the potential factors for cognitive impairment. Results Educational level was correlated with scores of cognitive tests (p