Summary The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between reduced muscle mass (sarcopenia) and areal bone mineral density (BMDa) in middle-aged and elderly community-dwelling European men. Men with sarcopenia had significantly lower BMDa and were more likely to have osteoporosis compared with men without sarcopenia. Introduction In men, the relationship between reduced muscle mass (sarcopenia) and BMDa is unclear. This study aimed to determine this relationship in middle-aged and elderly community-dwelling men. Methods Men aged 40–79 years from the Manchester (UK) and Leuven (Belgium) cohorts of the European Male Ageing Study were invited to attend for assessment including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, from which appendicular lean mass (aLM), fat mass (FM) and whole-body, spine and hip BMDa were determined. Relative appendicular skeletal muscle mass (RASM) was calculated as aLM/height². Muscle strength was assessed in subjects from Leuven. Sarcopenia was defined by RASM at Sarcopenia in Older People (RASM at 2 plus low muscle function). Linear regression was used to determine the associations between aLM, FM, muscle strength and BMDa and logistic regression to determine the association between sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Results Six hundred seventy-nine men with a mean age of 59.6 (SD = 10.7), contributed data to the analysis; 11.9 % were sarcopenic by the conventional definition. After adjustment for age and centre, aLM, RASM and FM were positively associated with BMDa. Men with RASM at a compared with those with RASM at ≥7.26 kg/m2. In a multivariable model, aLM was most consistently associated with BMDa. Men with sarcopenia were more likely to have osteoporosis compared with those with normal RASM (odds ratio = 3.0; 95 % CI = 1.6–5.8). Conclusions Sarcopenia is associated with low BMDa and osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly men. Further studies are necessary to assess whether maintaining muscle mass contributes to prevent osteoporosis.