Objective To explore the relationship between sarcopenia and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. Methods General data， serum creatinine to cystatin C ratio （CCR）， relative muscle strength （RMS）， and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale（CESD-10） scores of 5 600 middle-aged and older adults （aged ≥ 45 years） were collected in the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study （CHARLS）. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between CCR， RMS， and depressive symptoms. Restricted cubic splines were used to analyze the dose-response relationship between sarcopenia and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults. Results The age of 5 600 middle-aged and older adults was （59.70±9.39） years old， and 48.6% （2 721/5 600） were males， patients with depressive disorder accounted for 26.5% （1 484/5 600）. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the group with the lowest CCR level （Q1）， the Q4 group had a 39% lower risk of depressive disorder ［OR=0.61， 95%CI （0.51， 0.73）］. The group with the highest RMS level （T4） had a 58% lower risk of depressive symptoms compared to the group with the lowest RMS level （T1） ［OR=0.42， 95%CI （0.35， 0.51）］. Restrictive cubic spline analysis showed a negative correlation between CCR and RMS levels and the risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusions The muscle level of middle-aged and older adults affects depressive symptoms， and sarcopenia is closely related to depressive symptoms in patients with depressive disorder.