Fear of falling is common in older people and is associated with activity restriction and subsequent functional decline. A study of older Italians found that those with lower mastery (ie, the sense of control individuals feel over their own lives) had greater fear of falling than those with higher mastery. This association was independent of their physical capabilities, suggesting that psychological interventions could be used to target fear of falling. However, whether similar associations are found in other countries needs to be established. We hypothesised that higher mastery would be associated with reduced fear of falling in a community-dwelling British population. The MRC National Survey of Health and Development is a nationally representative sample of men and women born in England, Scotland, and Wales in March, 1946. At age 68–69 years, they reported their mastery (Pearlin Mastery Scale score 0 [lowest] to 28 [highest]), fear of falling, and falls history during the past year. Standing balance (time maintaining a one-legged stance with eyes closed) was nurse-assessed. Using logistic regression, we modelled likelihood of fear of falling as a function of mastery, adjusting for sex, socioeconomic position, balance time, and falls history (n=1597). Study participants who reported fear of falling (294, 18·4%) had lower mastery than those who did not (mean score 20·6 [SE 0·10] vs 22·5 [0·21], p<0·0001). They also had poorer standing balance (median 2·6 s [IQR 1·7–3·8] vs 3·1 [2·1–4·9], p<0·0001) and were more likely to have fallen in the past year (232 [42·5%] vs 125 [17·8], p<0·0001). In fully-adjusted models, study participants with higher mastery had lower odds of fear of falling (odds ratio per unit increase in mastery 0·87, 95% CI 0·84–0·90). Higher mastery was associated with lower odds of fear of falling in older adults, independent of falls history, balance, sex, and socioeconomic position. This finding suggests that mastery could be a target for interventions aimed at reducing fear of falling, fear-related activity restriction, and functional decline in older people. However, longitudinal analyses using future waves of the study are needed to clarify this. UK Medical Research Council (programme codes: MC_UU_12019/4 and MC_UU_12019/5). The MRC National Survey of Health and Development is funded by the UK Medical Research Council. The funders of the study had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.