Objective To provide basic data for developing automobile crash safety standards with Chinese human body characteristics, the influence of the muscle active force on the kinematic response of an occupant's head and neck under load impact was investigated. Methods Based on computed tomography (CT) images of 50th percentile male volunteers with Chinese physical characteristics, a finite element model of the neck containing the cervical vertebrae, muscles, and fat was constructed. The validity of frontal and side impact simulation was verified, and a beam unit was added to the model to simulate the active force of neck muscles. Results The developed neck model consisted of 143 793 units and 165 077 nodes. The simulation experimental data were consistent with the trend of volunteer experimental data, which had a good consistency and verified the effectiveness of the model. A comparison of the simulation results of the activated and passive models showed that the peak motion of the activated model was lower than that of the passive model. On the side impact, the horizontal displacement of the head of the activated model in the y-direction on the coronal plane did not fully match the experimental channel of the volunteer. Conclusions The muscle active force can maintain the posture and stability of the body. The activation curves, as well as the muscle active force produced by different individuals, vary owing to the different physiological cross-sectional areas of the muscles and other factors. The finite element model of the male neck developed in this study is based on the most recent statistical data of male physiques in China. It has a detailed anatomical structure and high biological fidelity. The model can be used to study the neck injury mechanisms of medium-sized Chinese male physiques.