Purpose : To examine the associations of health-related physical fitness (HRPF) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in Japanese women and men. Methods : The subjects were 366 women and 162 men aged 30-79 years. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was measured with a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Muscular strength was evaluated by measuring hand grip strength, muscular endurance was assessed by an abdominal endurance sit-ups test, and flexibility was measured by a sit-and-reach test. Z-scores for each test were summed to construct the HRPF index composite score (HRPFs). Various CVD risk factors, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), HDL cholesterol (HDL-c), triglycerides (TG), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were examined for each participant. Results : After adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status, associations were found between CRF and SBP, DBP, HDL-c and TG, (β=−0.191; p<0.01, β=−0.167; p<0.05, β=0.245; p<0.01, β=−0.233; p<0.01, respectively), and between muscular strength and HDL-c (β=0.156; p<0.01), muscular endurance and HDL-c (β=0.121; p<0.05) in women. In men, CRF was inversely associated with TG (β=−0.255; p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated an inverse gradient (p<0.05) across tertiles of HRPFs and individual HRPF levels (including CRF, muscular strength, and flexibility) for prevalence of having two or more CVD risk factors after adjustment for age and smoking status. In comparison with individuals in the lowest tertile of HRPFs levels, those in the middle (odds ratios (ORs) 0.32 (95% CI: 0.17 to 0.60) in women and 0.45 (95% CI: 0.20 to 1.00) in men) and highest tertile (ORs 0.12 (95% CI: 0.05 to 0.28) in women and 0.31 (95% CI: 0.13 to 0.73) in men) had a significantly lower likelihood of having two or more CVD risk factors. Conclusions : Our results show that HRPF is associated with CVD risk factors in Japanese women and men.