Objective To provide basic data for the development of automobile crash safety standards that meet Chinese national conditions and have Chinese characteristics, the influence of muscle active force on the kinematic response of the occupant"s head and neck under load impact was investigated. Methods Based on the CT images of 50th percentile male volunteers with Chinese physical characteristics, a finite element model of the neck containing cervical vertebrae, muscles, and fat was constructed, and the validity of frontal and side impact simulation was verified for the model, and a beam unit was added to the model to simulate the active force of neck muscles. Results The simulation experimental data of the developed model and the volunteer experimental data have the same trend and good agreement, which verifies the validity of the model. As shown by the simulation comparison results between the activated state model and the subjected state model, the peak motion of the activated state model is lower than that of the subjected state model, and in the side collision, the y-direction displacement of the head of the activated state model can’t fully match the volunteer experimental channel. Conclusions Muscle active force can maintain the posture and stability of the body, and the activation curves as well as the muscle active force produced by different individuals vary due to the different physiological cross-sectional area of muscles and other factors. The finite element model of male neck developed in this study is based on the latest statistical data of male physique in China, with detailed anatomical structure and high biological fidelity, which can be used for the study of neck injury mechanism of Chinese physique medium-sized men.