Measurements: Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to examine components of body composition. Demographic information was derived from a household interview. Results: For both genders, FFM, SMM and SMI decreased linearly from the age of 25 years, with the exception that in men SMI was not related to age and FFM peaked at age 38 years before declining thereafter. The relative loss from peak values to ≥75 years in FFM (6-8%) and SMM (11-15%) was similar between men and women. For FM and FMI, there was a curvilinear relationship with age in both genders, but peak values were detected 6-7 years later in women with a similar relative loss thereafter. For FFMI there was no change with age in men and a modest increase in women. Conclusion: In Australian adults there is heterogeneity in the age of onset, pattern and magnitude of changes in the different measures of muscle and fat mass derived from BIA, but overall the agerelated losses were similar between men and women. © 2014 Serdi and Springer-Verlag France.