The basal metabolic rate (BMR) in 46 fit older people (age: 66±3yrs., height: 163.3±9.5cm, body weight (BW): 59.0±10.4kg; mean±SD) was evaluated in relation to the body composition (body fat mass (FM): 15.3± 4.0kg, lean body mass (LBM): 43.7±9.5kg). BMR for all the subjects was 1, 328±218kcal/day, 22.6±1.9kcal/kgBW/day, and 30.9±3.6kcal/kgLBM/day. BMR (kcal/day) was significantly correlated with BW (r=0.87, p<0.001) and LBM (r=0.85, p<0.001). The height, BW, BMI and LBM were significantly higher in the males than in the females (p<0.01, respectively). No difference was apparent in FM between the two sexes. BMR (kcal/day) was higher in the males than in the females (p<0.01), but the males had lower BMR in terms of kcal/kgBW/day and kcal/kgLBM/day than the females (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). No significant difference was apparent in the adjusted BMR (kcal/(kgLBM±24.5)/day) between the males and females. A multiple-regression analysis showed the most powerful predictor to be LBM and the second most powerful to be FM of BMR in fit older people.