Aim Little is known about the acute effects of furosemide use on the risk of hip fracture. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between furosemide use and acute risk of hip fracture in older people in Taiwan. Methods We carried out a retrospective nationwide case–control study using the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program. A total of 4523 older adults aged ≥65 years with newly diagnosed hip fracture from 2000 to 2013 were identified as the cases. Additionally, 4523 older adults aged ≥65 years without hip fracture were randomly selected as the controls. The cases and the controls were matched by sex, age, comorbidities, and index year and month of hip fracture diagnosis. Furosemide use was defined as “current,” “recent” or “past” if the furosemide prescription was filled <3 months, 3–6 months or ≥6 months before the date of hip fracture diagnosis, respectively. The unconditional logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the relative risk of hip fracture associated with furosemide use. Results After adjustment for potential covariables, the adjusted odds ratios of hip fracture were 1.30 for participants with current use of furosemide (95% CI 1.14–1.48), 1.23 for participants with recent use of furosemide (95% CI 0.98–1.53) and 1.08 for participants with past use of furosemide (95% CI 0.90–1.30), compared with non‐users. Conclusions Current use of furosemide is associated with a 30% increased odds of hip fracture in older people in Taiwan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; ••: ••–••.