Objective To analyze the correlation between skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) in adult based on bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Methods The data of 270 adults who completed the InBody720 examination in the nutrition clinic of Luoyang Central Hospital from January 2024 to December 2025 were collected continuously. The exposure variable was SMM, and the outcome variable was BMR. According to the SMM tertiles, the subjects were divided into three groups: low, medium and high. The effect value of SMM on BMR was estimated by univariate and multivariate linear regression, and subgroup analysis was performed by gender, age, body mass index (BMI), obesity degree and body fat percentage (BFP). Results There was a significant positive correlation between SMM and BMR in the uncorrected model (β＝35.6, 95%CI: 35.4?35.7). After controlling for gender and age, β increased to 36.0 (95%CI: 35.8?36.2); after controlling for height, BFP and visceral fat area (VFA), β was 34.0 (95%CI: 33.5? 34.5). The BMR of the high SMM group was 215.3 kcal/d higher than that of the low SMM group. Subgroup analysis showed that the β estimates of SMM in each layer were close, and the correlation direction did not change. Conclusion In this study, there is an independent positive correlation between SMM and BMR, and its effect is not interfered by gender or body shape index, suggesting that SMM plays a key role in basal metabolic regulation.