Against the backdrop of deepening population aging and rapidly increasing debt in the residential sector, this article uses data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to explore the impact of household debt on labor participation of the elderly population. The empirical analysis results indicate that household debt has a negative effect on the retirement of the elderly population, and a positive effect on the labor participation of the elderly population. The mechanism analysis results indicate that alleviate the credit and liquidity constraints caused by household debt, elderly households tend to increase labor supply and delay retirement. In addition, heterogeneity analysis results indicate that household debt is more sensitive to the impact of labor participation decision-making on the elderly population with lower education levels, physical health, housing ownership and children’s income level. This study provides a new perspective for understanding the labor participation decision-making, and delayed retirement of the elderly population, and provides useful reference for relevant departments to formulate employment policies for the elderly population.