The most accurate determination of beef carcass quality involves chemical analyses of cut or the entire carcass. This, however, is very costly and cumbersome. An indirect approach to carcass evaluation involves proxy traits. The objective of this study was to derive quantitative relationships between measured carcass chemical composition and indirect carcass traits. A meta-analysis was applied to 24 publications in cattle. The selected indirect traits were USDA yield grade, fat thickness and marbling. USDA yield grade was the best indicator of the variations of the carcass chemical composition. Similarly, fat thickness was also a good indicator of changes in carcass chemical composition. Marbling was strongly correlated with changes in protein proportion, but not with changes in fat and moisture proportions. These results show that changes in the chemical composition of the carcass due to dietary conditions for example can be estimated from changes in carcass traits.