Objective To investigate the correlation between serum uric acid （SUA） levels and incident chronic kidney disease （CKD） in middle-aged and elderly Chinese population and gender differences. Methods Based on the longitudinal survey data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015， the CKD-Epidemiology Collaboration cystatin C formula was used to estimate the glomerular filtration rate （eGFR）， and 4 119 participants with normal renal function （eGFR≥60 mL·min^-1·1.72 m^-2） at baseline were included. Incident CKD was defined as eGFR<60 mL·min^-1·1.72 m^-2 at the follow-up in 2015. Logistic regression analysis was used to analysis the association of SUA levels at baseline and incident CKD among different genders. Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to analyze the dose-response relationship. Results After 4-year follow-up， 127 participants developed incident CKD， including 57 males and 70 females. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that elevated SUA levels were independently associated with the risk of incident CKD （OR=1.532，P<0.001）. For each 1 mg/dL increase in SUA， the risk of incident CKD increased by 33.6% in males （OR=1.336，P=0.012） and 77.5% in females （OR=1.755，P<0.001）. Restricted cubic spline analysis showed a linear positive correlation between SUA levels and incident CKD in both males and females. Participants were divided into four groups according to SUA quartiles （Q1-Q4）. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated a significant increase in the risk of incident CKD in Q3 group （3.75 mg/dL<SUA≤4.43 mg/dL） and Q4 group （SUA>4.43 mg/dL） compared with Q1 group in females （Q3 group： OR=2.571，P=0.045；Q4 group： OR=3.666，P=0.005）. Conclusion SUA is an independent risk factor for incident CKD in the middle-aged and elderly population. In females， serum uric acid levels exceeding 3.75 mg/dL are associated with an increased risk of incident CKD.