| Sumario: | • Family guidance mitigates the eHealth literacy inequality stemming from differences in educational attainment among older adults. • Low-educated older adults' involvement in informational and recreational use on the internet contributes to the enhancement of eHealth literacy. • Family members guiding low-educated older adults in engaging with informational, recreational, and instrumental internet use benefits to these older adults' eHealth literacy. • Improving eHealth literacy among older adults can be approached through promoting their greater practical engagement in an internet environment. To explore whether family guidance regarding Internet (FGI) mitigates the effect of educational attainment on older adults' eHealth literacy through different Internet uses and identify which types of FGI improve eHealth literacy among low-educated older adults effectively. A total of 490 Chinese adults aged 60 and above completed the eHealth Literacy Scale, an Internet use checklist, and self-reported their educational attainment and FGI frequency. With adequate FGI, educational attainment was not related to informational Internet use, recreational Internet use, and eHealth literacy. Instrumental, informational, and recreational FGI predicted low-educated older adults' Internet uses and eHealth literacy positively. FGI mitigates older adults' eHealth literacy inequality due to educational attainment and indirectly narrows this gap through the mediations of informational and recreational Internet use. Informational, instrumental, and recreational FGI play key roles in improving eHealth literacy among low-educated older adults.
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