Abstract: Objective To describe food consumption and nutrients intake among residents in Guangzhou city and to provide a basis for developing intervention strategy.Methods Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used to select 2 976 residents above 3 years old in 7 districts of Guangzhou city during June to September 2011.A 24-hour dietary recall for 3 consecutive days was used to collect information on food intake,while the condiment intake was assessed with weighting method.Results The average food consumption per reference man per day for the residents included 261.3 g cereals and patatoes,289.2 g vegetables,56 g fruits,193.5 g meat,60.5 g aquatic products,75.6 g milk,38.5 g eggs,20.3 g legumes and nuts,25.5 g oil,and 5.1 g salt.The average energy intake per reference person per day was 7 119.5 kJ.The proportion of the energy intake from protein,fat,and carbohydrate were 19.9%,31.9%,and 48.2%,respectively.The average daily intake of niacin was sufficient while the average daily intake of vitamin A,thiamin,riboflavin,vitamin C,and vitamin E were below the recommended intakes.The average daily intakes of phosphorus,iron,zinc,copper,manganese were sufficient,while the intakes of calcium,potassium,sodium,magnesium,and selenium were lower than the recommended.Conclusion The dietary pattern of Guangzhou residents was not reasonable.The intake of meat was high,but the intakes of vegetables,fruit and milk were not sufficient.Education on balanced diet should be conducted to improve nutrition and health status of Guangzhou residents.