Abstract Obesity in children and adolescents is closely associated with cardiometabolic risk factors. Body mass index (BMI) is currently a widely used indicator for assessing obesity. However, it has limitations, such as reduced validity during growth and development and the inability to distinguish between fat and muscle mass. In recent years, the tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) has gained attention because of its relative stability during adolescence and its ability to more specifically reflect body fat levels. The review systematically summarizes recent research progress on the use of TMI in predicting body fat levels and cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents, indicating that TMI performs well in assessing body fat during adolescence and is superior or non-inferior to BMI in predicting cardiometabolic risk. However, the predictive ability of TMI is influenced by age, sex, and population differences, and unified diagnostic cutoffs have not yet been established. Future prospective cohort studies are needed to further validate the predictive value of TMI and establish population specific reference cutoffs.