Community governance needs to engage the elderly under the background of population ageing. Based on the theory of person-environment fit, this paper explores the influence of institutional capacity and personal preference on the participation of the elderly in community governance activities in Beijing by using data from 2019 Beijing Social Governance in Ageing Society Survey. The results show that 67.36% of the elderly have a willingness to participate in community governance activities while the actual participation rate is rather low. Institutional capacities of community organizations are barely satisfactory and gaps exist from the needs of the elderly. Better institutional capacities are significantly associated with higher participation of the elderly in community governance activities. In addition, the elderly's preference for the institutional capacity has a moderating effect on the aforementioned relationship. In order to reduce the constraints of institutional barriers on the participation of the elderly, priorities should be given to the abilities valued by the elderly when community organizations carry out community governance activities with limited resources.