Objectives: Our aims were: 1) to compare the sensory organization of balance control and balance strategies between women with fibromialgia (FM) and healthy women; 2) to investigate which sensory component, i.e., vestibular, visual or somato-sensory, is the most affected in FM; and, 3), to determine the associations between the functional independence measure (FIM) and balance responses in FM. Design: Cross-sectional observational study. Setting: Urban regional hospital and university (Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain). Participants: Twenty women with FM and 20 matched healthy women. Primary/secondary outcome measures: The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) was used to determine postural sway and balance during six different conditions with subjects in a standing position. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was used to determine the level of functional independence in daily life activities. Between-group differences were analyzed with ANCOVA and the Spearman’s test was used for correlations. Results: Significant between-groups and between-conditions differences were found for all SOT conditions (all, P<0.001): women with FM showed lower scores being the vestibular score the most affected. Different correlations between SOT conditions and some specific daily life activities were observed in the FM group: bathing activity and balance condition 6 (rs=0.541; P<0.001), bed transfers activity and conditions 2 (rs=0.491; P<0.001) and 3 (rs=0.510; P<0.001), positioning strategy 6 and dressing the upper (rs=0.530; P<0.001) or lower (rs=0.562; P<0.001) body, and toileting (rs=0.521; P<0.001): the greater the loss of balance, the greater the interference on some daily life activities. Conclusions: Women with FM exhibited balance deficiencies and used different strategies for maintaining their balance in standing which was associated with a negative impact on functional independence.