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The prevention of loneliness has become a key preoccupation of public policy for the general population and for older people for whom social isolation can lead to a loss of independence. Although loneliness affects a minority, events such as the 2003 heatwave in France have heightened the visibility among the public of the vulnerability of older people who experience loneliness. Feelings of loneliness need to be distinguished from social isolation or exclusion. Social isolation or exclusion is however one indicator of the consequences of loneliness, as well as precariousness and inequalities. In order to explore feelings of loneliness in Europe, this article takes into account social and material inequalities. Data are from the sixth wave of the Survey on Health, Ageing & Retirement in Europe undertaken with persons aged 50 and above. The analysis uses indicators of social and material precariousness together with subjective measures of living conditions. Using descriptive and multivariate analyses, three dimensions are explored in relation to loneliness: economic and material precariousness; social and relational precariousness, and frailty.