Abstract Objective We conducted a meta-analysis to analyze the effects of resistance training on measures of body composition, muscle strength, and muscle performance in older people with sarcopenia. Methods All randomized controlled trials on the effects of resistance training on outcome variables in older people with sarcopenia were searched on Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane Library, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang. Data from January 2010 to October 2020 were reviewed. Two researchers extracted data and evaluated the quality of the studies that met the inclusion criteria independently. Meta-analysis for pre-post changes were calculated as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Fourteen studies meeting inclusion criteria included 561 healthy older adults (age 65.8 to 82.8) with sarcopenia. Compared with the control group, resistance training had positive effects on body fat mass (SMD = -0.53, 95% CI − 0.81 to − 0.25, p = 0.0002, I² = 0%), handgrip strength (SMD = 0.81, 95%CI 0.35 to 1.27, p = 0.0005, I² = 81%), knee extension strength (SMD = 1.26, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.80, p < 0.0001, I² = 67%), gait speed (SMD = 1.28, 95%CI 0.36 to 2.19, p = 0.006, I² = 89%), and the timed up and go test (SMD = -0.93, 95% CI − 1.30 to − 0.56, p < 0.0001, I² = 23%). Resistance training had no effects on appendicular skeletal muscle mass (SMD = 0.25, 95% CI − 0.27 to 0.78, p = 0.35, I² = 68%), skeletal muscle mass (SMD = 0.27, 95% CI − 0.02 to 0.56, p = 0.07, I² = 0%) and leg lean mass (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI − 0.25 to 0.50, p = 0.52, I² = 0%). Old people with sarcopenia of different ages, genders or diagnostic criteria and weights have different gains in muscle mass, handgrip strength, knee extension strength and muscle performance after different intervention duration, frequencies, mode and intensity resistance training. Conclusion Resistance training is an effective treatment to improve body fat mass, muscle strength, and muscle performance in healthy older people with sarcopenia.