Quality of life (QoL) can be defined in many ways, making its measurement and incorporation into scientific study difficult. This is a theoretical paper regarding the definition and measuring of quality of life. The search strategy included a combination of key words ‘quality of life’, ‘definition of QoL’ as well as ‘measuring QoL’ in titles using Medline and Google Scholar databases. Quality of life is a complex, multifaceted construct that requires multiple approaches from different theoretical angles. Scientists from the various disciplines of social science are encouraged to exploit the strengths of other’s contributions in a collaborative effort. A thorough understanding of subjective well-being requires knowledge of how objective conditions influence people’s evaluations of their lives. Similarly, a complete understanding of objective indicators and how to select them requires that we understand people’s values, and have knowledge about how objective indicators influence people’s experience of well-being.