Abstract Background In light of the aging population, increasingly suffering from the metabolic syndrome (MS), strategies need to be developed to address global public health challenges known to be associated with MS such as arthritis. As physical activity (PA) may play a crucial role in tackling those challenges, this study aimed to determine the association between the number of MS risk factors, PA and arthritis in people ≥ 50 years old. Methods Data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used to estimate the prevalence of arthritis and MS risk factors in the European population ≥ 50 years and to evaluate the associations between MS risk factors, PA and arthritis. Binary logistic regression was performed to calculate the odds ratio of different factors. Results 73,125 participants were included in the analysis. 55.75% of patients stated at least one of the three MS risk factors. The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA)/other rheumatism among ≥ 50 years population was 10.19% and 19.32% respectively. Females showed a higher prevalence of arthritis than males. Prevalence did not differ between groups with different levels of PA. Arthritis prevalence was positively correlated with the number of MS risk factors (P < 0.01) but not with PA (P > 0.05). Conclusion Middle-aged and older Europeans with multiple comorbidities suffered from RA, OA or other rheumatism more frequently than participants with fewer comorbidities, while the level of physical activity was not associated with the number of metabolic risk factors in patients with RA and OA/other rheumatism.