AbstractBackgroundSubjective evaluations of cognition are convenient to administer and can be useful if they accurately identify or predict cognitive impairment. We investigated the relationship between subjective and objective measures of cognition in a cohort of Black older adults.MethodThe Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) comprises community‐dwelling Black adults ages 50+ who are long‐term Kaiser Permanente Northern California members. Verbal episodic memory (VEM) and executive function (EF) were assessed at three interview waves by the Spanish and English Neuropsychological Assessment Scales (SENAS). We operationalized subjective cognition two ways. 1) Participants self‐rated changes in their everyday cognition using the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog). Responses, rated 1 = “Better or no change” to 4 = “Consistently much worse, were averaged across the 16 items. 2) Participants responded (yes/no) to the question: “Are you concerned that you have a memory or other thinking problem?” (Subjective memory concerns). Linear mixed models with random intercept and slope estimated associations of ECog or subjective memory concerns with VEM and EF at baseline and over time. All models adjusted for baseline age, gender, education, parental education, and interview mode (in‐person or phone). Sensitivity models stratified by gender and age (+/‐ 65 years).ResultParticipants’ (n = 671) baseline mean age was 68.4 (SD = 8.7) years, 70.2% were women, mean ECog was 1.26 (SD = 0.3), and 40.1% reported subjective memory concerns (Table 1). Subjective memory concerns were associated with worse baseline VEM and EF, but not associated with rate of change for either domain (Table 2A; Table 3A). In contrast, ECog was associated with rate of change for VEM (b = ‐0.09, 95% CI ‐0.17,0.002; Table 2B) and EF (b = ‐0.07, 95% CI ‐0.13,‐0.003; Table 3B). Among women, higher ECog was associated with faster decline in VEM (b = ‐0.12, 95% CI ‐0.22,‐0.02; Table 2B) and EF (b = ‐0.09, 95% CI ‐0.17,‐0.02; Table 3B). Among participants ages 65 and older, higher ECog was associated with a faster decline in VEM (b = ‐0.11, 95% CI ‐0.22,‐0.001; Table 2B).ConclusionA well‐validated measure of subjective memory concerns, the ECog, was associated with worse objective executive function and verbal episodic memory and faster declines in both domains in this sample of middle‐aged and older Black adults.