BackgroundRelatively little is known about how sleep disorders affect frailty of seniors. The study uses Fried's frailty index, to investigate the relationship between sleep disorder and frailty among older Indian adults.MethodsThe study analysed Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (2017–18) data which uses a multistage stratified area probability cluster sampling design. The association between frailty was studied for which the total sample size was 31,902. The principal dependent variable was frailty. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were presented in the study. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to fulfil the study objectives to find the possible association.ResultsThe prevalence of frailty in India was 21.3 percent. Older adults with sleep disorder had 66 percent higher likelihood to be frail than their counterparts. The benefits of physical activity in containing frailty is huge, the association were quite high. Poor Self-rated health was significantly associated with higher frailty (OR = 1.73; CI = 1.47–2.04).ConclusionsFrailty is an enormously growing public health issue and has bi-directional relation with sleep disorders. The study has clinical relevance since sleep complaints offer a means for identifying those who are vulnerable to frailty and through appropriate intervention, the causes of sleep disorder would help to delay and in some cases reverse frailty.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-023-04148-x.