The quality of life of people with disabilities and their parents is determined by various objective and subjective indicators, further influenced by various factors such as support, social relationships and individual characteristics. The quality of life is an important topic in working with families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is measured in order to get feedback on the support provided in the formal support system and in order to gain insight into the lives and health of people with disabilities and their families. The quality of life is different for each person, that being because perception may differ from a person to person. Every parent expects their child to be born healthy and as such is not prepared for having a child with a disability. Once parents learn that they have a child with a developmental disability, they go through five stages of grief. Parents have a great influence on the lives of their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and in return, children with intellectual and developmental disabilities greatly influence the lives of their parents. The findings of the literature and numerous studies show that the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents is greatly reduced compared to children with typical development and their parents, in a physical sense only. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into, and to summarize and present the key features and specifics of the quality of, the quality of life of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents and wider families. In doing so, the paper relies on and uses the relevant sources of available scientific and professional literature.