Objective To explore the influence of basketball shoes on impact force and corresponding muscle activation in the lower limb during the active and passive landing. Methods Twelve male ball players wearing two types of shoes (basketball shoes with cushioning insole vs. control shoes) performed the jump drop and passive landing from three different height on the tiltable platform. The dynamometric platform and electromyography (EMG) measurement system were used to collect the impact forces and EMG data from 5 major muscles in the lower limb simultaneously. Results As for the active drop jump, wearing basketball shoes didn’t have any effect on the amplitude/frequency of impact forces and muscle activation in the lower limb. However, during the passive landing, wearing basketball shoes could significantly decrease the amplitude of impact forces, the peak loading rate and the input frequency (P<0.05), and the post-activation of major muscles in the lower limb were also significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions During the active landing, the intervention of footwear shows no significantly influence on characteristics of impact forces and muscle activation. However, when the human body does not under the full control of landing, wearing basketball shoes can change the input frequency, decrease the muscle post-activation, and play a positive role in preventing the sports injuries and enhancing the metabolic efficiency during the landing.