Objective To study the behaviors and characteristics of memory updating ability in postmenopausal women with highly active physical activity, so as to provide evidence for slowing down memory loss and preventing injury in postmenopausal women. Methods The Chinese version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-short volume) was used to evaluate the long-term physical activity levels of postmenopausal women, and the involved postmenopausal participants were divided into 2 groups: highly active physical activity group (n=20) and normal control group (n=20). We collected the behavioral responses and electroencephalograph (EEG) data of postmenopausal women with different levels of physical activity during the memory updating task using event-related brain potentials and behavioral monitoring techniques. Results In the graph matching n-Back task, the reaction speed and accuracy of behavior in the high and low load task in highly active physical activity group were higher than those in the control group. In the process of coding, matching, refreshing and short-time storage of information, the amplitudes of P3 in two groups were decreased with the increase of the memory load. The latent period of 3-Back-P3 was significantly shorter than that of 1-Back in control group, indicating that postmenopausal women in control group were more sensitive to cognitive load. In highly active physical activity group, the P3 peak of 3-Back, 1-Back and the D-N450 amplitude of frontal, central and parietal area in highly active physical activity group were higher than those in the control group, indicating that the cognitive load had less effect on postmenopausal women in highly active physical activity group, who had a strong ability of mobilization, allocation and application for cognitive resources. Conclusion Postmenopausal women with long-term highly active physical activity have stronger memory updating ability, including better ability to respond to movements, stronger adaptability for perceptual requirements of different cognitive loads, and more flexible and efficient cognitive processing capacity for coding, matching, refreshing and short-time memory storage.