Aim To investigate the associations of global cognitive performance with frailty and pre‐frailty in non‐demented community‐dwelling older adults. Method A cross‐sectional study was carried out using data from the baseline survey of the Sasaguri Genkimon Study in 2011. The study sample consisted of 1565 older adults with complete data and no evidence of dementia. Global cognitive performance was evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE). Frailty state was defined using the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria, based on five components: unintentional weight loss, low grip strength, exhaustion, low gait speed and low physical activity. Results Total MoCA and MMSE scores, and their domain‐specific scores decreased across the non‐frail, pre‐frail and frail groups. Poorer total MoCA and MMSE scores, as well as their domain‐specific scores, were associated with the greater likelihood of being frail, but not with pre‐frailty after full adjustment. The strength of the association with frailty was greater for total MoCA score than for total MMSE score. Domain‐specific scores for visuospatial abilities and attention domains in both of the MoCA and MMSE were consistently associated with the likelihood of pre‐frailty and frailty, even after being mutually adjusted for all domains. Conclusions The MoCA performance is more strongly associated with the odds of frailty than the MMSE performance in the relatively functional and non‐demented older adult population. The present findings could contribute to further exploration of possible common pathways that can be targeted in the prevention and management for both of these two conditions. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; ●●: ●●–●●.