Objective To explore the factors influencing medication adherence intention in community‑dwelling elderly patients with multimorbidity from the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, so as to provide empirical evidence for enhancing their medication adherence and self‑management ability. Methods By purposive sampling, 11 elderly patients with multimorbidity who were followed up at the Beihu Nanmian Community Health Service Center in Xixiangtang District, Nanning City from June to July 2024 were selected for semi‑structured interviews. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, the interview data were organized and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven‑step analysis method. Results Three themes and ten sub‑themes regarding the factors influencing medication adherence intention in community‑dwelling elderly patients with multimorbidity were extracted. (1) Attitude toward behavior: Beliefs about medication benefits—for example medication can effectively control disease progression and relieve uncomfortable symptoms—enhanced medication adherence intention; beliefs about medication risks, including concerns about side effects, weakened medication adherence intention; negative emotional experiences, such as physical and mental fatigue from long‑term regular medication and perceiving daily medicine-taking as a burden, also reduced medication adherence intention. (2) Subjective norm: In the family setting, repeated reminders and supervision from family members created implicit compliance pressure that strengthened medication adherence intention, whereas some patients living alone lacked such intimate relationship pressure and thus tended to have lower medication adherence intention; in the social environment, successful experiences of fellow patients translated into implicit group normative pressure that could influence their medication adherence intention. (3) Perceived behavioral control: The impact of number of medications was moderated by age and habits; complex dosing rules, travel needs, insufficient drug accessibility, and high economic cost of medication all reduced patients' perceived controllability over medication‑taking, thereby lowering medication adherence intention. Conclusion Medication adherence intention in community‑dwelling elderly patients with multimorbidity is interactively influenced by attitude toward behavior, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Future efforts should focus on vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those living alone, and adopt multidimensional approaches—including medication regimen simplification, optimization of primary‑care drug supply, improved medical insurance coverage, and strengthened family and social support—to enhance patients' medication adherence intention and long‑term medication adherence.