Abstract Introduction: Burnout syndrome (BO) is an increasingly serious problem among physicians. It is highly prevalent in health care settings. The impact of burnout not only affects physicians but extends to their patients if the quality of medical care delivered had been affected. Quality of life (QoL) is a multidimensional concept affected by all life aspects of individuals. Aim of work: To assess the prevalence of BO syndrome among resident physicians working in Zagazig University hospitals, to assess their quality of life (QoL), to identify some risks factors of BO and to study the effect of BO on QoL. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at Zagazig University hospitals on one hundred sixty eight resident physicians. Socio-demographic characteristics, Maslach BO scale and 12-Item Short-Form Survey Instrument version 2 (SF-12v2) questionnaires were collected from studied physicians. Results: the largest percentage of studied physicians had emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), loss of personal accomplishment (PA) and high total BO score (53, 64.3, 75 and 67.3%) respectively. There are significant differences between gender, social class, marital status, department, and total BO score. Physicians with higher BO reported lower QoL score. Physicians working in surgical departments reported significantly lower score in each domain. Male gender and single physicians reported significantly lower Mental Component Summary score (MCS) of QoL. Conclusion: All resident physicians suffered from moderate to high BO syndrome. Being male resident, single and working in surgical departments were the predictors of BO. Residents working in medical departments had better physical and mental QoL.