Objective: The prevalence of malnutrition in the community-dwelling older population of China was analyzed by Meta-analysis.

Methods: Papers on the nutrition of community-dwelling elderly (≥60 years old) in China from August 1, 2011, to July 31, 2021, were retrieved through PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Digital Database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database. Malnutrition was defined by nutritional assessment and screening tools of different studies. The random-effect model was fitted to calculate the prevalence. Subgroup analysis and inter-group difference analysis were performed according to the data included in the paper.

Results: A total of 13 articles met the inclusion criteria, including 19 938 participants ≥60 years old. There are a total of seven methods for diagnosing criteria and defining malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition reported in papers varies greatly (2.4%-52.5%), of which seven pieces reported the prevalence of malnutrition risk (21.3%-67.0%). The Meta-analysis shows that the combined prevalence of malnutrition and risk of malnutrition was 41.2% (95%CI: 29.5%-54.0%, I(2)=99.6%, P<0.05) in the community-dwelling older population of China. The prevalence after 2017 is lower than that before 2017 (29.6% vs. 66.6%, χ(2)=274.20, P<0.05). The prevalence of men was lower than that of women (44.9% vs. 52.2%, χ(2)=10.67, P=0.001). The prevalence of non-living alone is lower than that of the older population living alone (41.2% vs. 49.6%, χ(2)=14.23, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Malnutrition is common among the community-based older people in China. The prevalence of malnutrition is higher among older women and the elderly who live alone.