The present invention relates to follistatin-Fc fusion proteins that have effects in the tissue of administration (such as an injected muscle), rather than systemic effects. The Fc domain results in dimerization of the follistatin-Fc fusion protein, and provides enhanced tissue retention. The description includes fusion proteins comprising a human follistatin polypeptide consisting of FST288, FST291 (a non-natural truncated follistatin) or FST315; and a human IgGl or IgG2 Fc domain.