BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia and chronic pain are geriatric syndromes that negatively impact the lives of the affected elderly, their families and the routine of health services, as is the case of long-term care institutions for the elderly. The objective of this study was to verify the relationship between sarcopenia and chronic pain in institutionalized elderly women. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out in 24 long-term care institutions for the elderly, in Passo Fundo/RS (December 2016-June 2017). The population was composed of 161 residents in these places, submitted to an instrument structured in 23 blocks. In this study, blocks A (type of institution), B (sociodemographic variables), F (sarcopenia) and G (chronic pain) were used. Blocks A, B and G were evaluated using the elderly self-report and the block F through the SARC-F Questionnaire. The statistical analysis used the descriptive statistics and the chi-square test with Pearson's relation (p≤0.05). RESULTS: The sample consisted of 79 elderly women (81.38±8.79 years). The majority between 80 to 89 years, living in private institutions, white, widowed and with 1 to 8 years of education. It was observed that 62% had sarcopenia and 41.8% chronic pain, and these variables were associated (p=0.033). There was no association between sarcopenia or chronic pain with age (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: There was an association between sarcopenia and chronic pain in institutionalized elderly women. Based on