In the present study, the performance of anthropometric parameters, lipid and glucose indexes, and the combination of anthropometric parameters with the TyG (triglycerides x fasting plasma glucose) metabolic index, was compared in detecting insulin resistance (IR) to evaluate the optimal cut-off points in nondiabetic Chinese individuals. A total of 1067 nondiabetics underwent oral glucose tolerance test, blood lipid, and fasting insulin measurements. The clinical usefulness of various parameters- body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), TyG, triglycerides/ high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and TyG with adiposity status (TyG-BMI [TyG x BMI] and TyG-WC)-was analyzed to identify IR. Spearman correlation and receiver-operating characteristic curve analyses were used to compare the predictive efficacy of different indicators. All indicators showed a positive correlation with IR in both normal glucose and all subjects. However, the correlation between BMI and homeostasis model assessment of IR index was higher than other indicators as assessed by Spearman correlation test (P<.05). Furthermore, BMI and TyG-BMI were better indicators than others as determined by comparing the area under the receiver-operating characteristics curves (P<.05) in detecting IR. BMI is a simple and accurate measure for detecting IR in Chinese subjects. The 27kg/m(2) threshold was the optimal BMI cut-off point for detecting IR in both normal glucose and all glucose categories subjects.