OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effect of menopausal status on the risk of the metabolic syndrome in Korean women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2001. A total of 2,671 women who did not receive hormone replacement therapy (1,893 premenopausal women and 778 postmenopausal women) were included in the analysis. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. RESULTS: Postmenopausal women had significantly higher mean waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels than premenopausal women after adjusting for age (P = 0.018, P = 0.001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.006, respectively). Among postmenopausal women, the age-adjusted odds ratio was 1.61 (95% CI 1.15-2.25) for abdominal obesity, 1.11 (0.76-1.61) for elevated blood pressure, 1.24 (0.90-1.72) for low HDL cholesterol, 1.28 (0.89-1.83) for high triglycerides, and 1.07 (0.69-1.65) for high fasting glucose compared with premenopausal women. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio for the metabolic syndrome was 1.60 (95% CI 1.04-2.46) among postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: Postmenopausal status is associated with an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome independent of normal aging in Korean women.