The decline in marital satisfaction and marital well-being which are reflected in the increase number of divorce is global issue. Neglect in roles and responsibilities of the spouses lead to a problematic relationship. Thus the objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of selected character traits of married partner on marital satisfaction. A study involving 165 samples of married samples in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia has been carried out to observe the effect of maried partner's characters namely in terms of communication, compassion and religiosity on marital satisfaction. In this study, marital satisfaction was assessed using a modified version of the ENRICH Marriage Scale. Quantitative method is employed, whereby data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with IBM-SPSS-AMOS program version 21.0. The study finds communication, compassion and religiosity have a positive and significant effect on marital satisfaction. This study supports the findings of past researchers that have linked characters of married partner to marital satisfaction. The results of this study may assist professionals and decision-makers focusing on marital satisfaction issues.

Keywords: Communication; Compassion; Marital Satisaction; Islamic Family Law