In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the Osteoporosis Self-assessment Tool for Asians (OSTA) in screening for osteoporosis in the elderly male population in the Chengdu area, China. The Lunar Prodigy Advance bone densitometer was used to measure the bone mineral density of 11,039 healthy males over the age of 40 years. Men with OSTA scores of >-1, -4 < OSTA <=-1, or <=-4 , or were assigned to the low-risk, moderate risk, or high-risk group, respectively. The T-scores measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the different sites were compared across the groups. The bone mineral density of the lumbar spines L1-L4, the left femur, and other sites decreased gradually with age. With increasing age, the screening sensitivity of OSTA for osteoporosis in the lumbar spine and femur gradually increased, whereas its specificity decreased. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the OSTA index in different age groups and at different sites were 0.644-0.831. Therefore, the OSTA index demonstrated some value in screening for osteoporosis in men over the age of 50 years. Significant differences in its effectiveness were observed among different age groups.