We studied symptoms of pain, anxiety, and depression and physical function in postmenopausal women with low bone mass and vertebral fractures. One hundred patients attending an out-patient clinic for osteoporosis completed a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and Short Form (SF-12). Twenty patients also completed the osteoporosis specific form QUALEFFO, and were compared to a control group. Maximal pain (VAS) during the last week was 5.3 +/- 2.8. Based on HADS, the prevalence of anxiety disorder (29 %) was significantly higher among the patients than in the norm material; for depression, however, there was no difference. For SF-12, the standardized physical component summary (PCS) was significantly lower than norm data. No difference was found for the mental component summary (MCS). Using QUALEFFO, patients reported a worse score for all domains except the mental domain. We conclude that Norwegian women with vertebral fractures sustain a high level of pain probably leading to an increased level of anxiety, but not to increased level of depression compared to age-adjusted norm data.