Purpose. The Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life (MANSA; Priebe et al., 1999) is one of the most widely used QoL-measures in psychiatry. We aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the MANSA in a broad sample of people with severe mental illnesses (SMI). Method. QoL-data from three studies were available (total n = 806). Internal consistency and construct validity were assessed. Furthermore, it was investigated whether the 12 subjective MANSA-items were capable of discriminating between specific psychiatric disorders. Results. Cronbach’s alpha ranges from 0.78 to 0.85; overall convergent and divergent validity of the MANSA is good. For people with SMI, their financial situation, mental health and life as whole are the most important QoL-domains. Conclusions. The psychometric properties of the MANSA are good and the instrument can be used to discriminate between important QoL domains within people with SMI.