Purpose <p>With an aging global population, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has increased. Dysphagia is a major challenge in this population. However, little information is available regarding the association between dysphagia and the prevalence of CKD. We aimed to evaluate whether a severity-dependent association exists between dysphagia and CKD.</p> Methods <p>This retrospective cross-sectional study included 520 patients, aged ≥ 65&#xa0;years, who had been admitted to Izumo Medical Life Cooperative Izumo-shimin Hospital from April 2022 to May 2023. Dysphagia was assessed using a modified water swallowing test with a rating scale of 1–5. A score of 1–3 represented dysphagia. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≤ 60&#xa0;mL/min/1.73 m². An association between dysphagia and the prevalence of CKD was assessed using logistic regression models adjusting for clinically relevant factors.</p> Results <p>CKD was observed in 19 (38.0%), 246 (57.9%), and 28 (62.2%) patients with normal deglutition, nearly normal deglutition, and dysphagia, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted models showed that dysphagia was associated with the prevalence of CKD (adjusted odds ratios of patients with dysphagia vs. those with normal deglutition: 2.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.01–6.20) Additionally, a severity-dependent association between dysphagia and the prevalence of CKD was observed [1.00 (reference), 1.76 (0.92–3.36), 2.43 (0.96–6.16), and 3.24 (0.42–25.0) in patients with no, almost no, mild, and moderate-to-severe dysphagia, respectively; p for trend = 0.044].</p> Conclusions <p>Dysphagia was associated with the prevalence of CKD in a severity-dependent manner.</p>