SUMMARYAn n × n real matrix A = (a i j ) n × n is called bi-symmetric matrix if A is both symmetric and per-symmetric, that is, a i j = a ji and a i j = a n+1− j,n+1−i (i, j = 1, 2, . . . , n). This paper is mainly concerned with finding the least-squares bi-symmetric solutions of matrix inverse problem AX = B with a submatrix constraint, where X and B are given matrices of suitable sizes. Moreover, in the corresponding solution set, the analytical expression of the optimal approximation solution to a given matrix A * is derived. A direct method for finding the optimal approximation solution is described in detail, and three numerical examples are provided to show the validity of our algorithm.