Objective To compare the performance of five screening tools for sarcopenia in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), and to provide practical tools for early assessment of the risk of sarcopenia. Methods A total of 130 MHD patients were selected and screened for sarcopenia using Strength, Assistance with Walking, Rise from a Chair, Climb Stairs and Falls （SARC-F） sarcopenia score, the SARC-F combined with calf circumference (SARC-CalF), the Ishii Score, and two versions of the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment （MSRA-7 and MSRA-5） questionnaire.Four common diagnostic criteria （EWGSOP2, AWGS2, IWGS, and FNIH） were utilized as the standard diagnostic methods.The sensitivity, specificity, Youden index and area under the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves （AUC） were calculated. Results Using diagnostic criteria of the EWGSOP2, AWGS2, and IWGS, the Ishii Score had the largest AUC among the five screening tools (0.793,0.871,and 0.752 respectively).Using diagnostic criteria of the FNIH, the AUC of SARC-CalF was the largest （0.739）. Conclusion Among the five screening tools, the Ishii Score is most recommended for screening sarcopenia in MHD patients, followed by SARC-CalF.