Abstract: Objective To determine the relationship between sleep duration and abdominal obesity in elderly in china. Methods Data were drawn from the 2013 China Health and Retirement National Investigation (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, CHARLS). The prevalence of abdominal obesity in the elderly who had a normal range of sleep duration was compared with those who had a shorter or longer sleep duration using Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression models. Results Higher odds of abdominal obesity were found in the elderly male with a shorter (OR=1.627, 95%CI: 1.286-2.060, POR=1.499, 95%CI: 1.009-2.228, P<0.001) sleep duration, compared with those with a normal range of sleep duration. Statistical significances were found in the prevalence of abdominal obesity among those with different characteristics in education, smoking, chronic conditions, and social participation. Conclusion Both long and short sleep durations are associated with increased risk of obesity, which is more evident in older men. Bad living habits and mental state will increase the risk of abdominal obesity.