Objective: To investigate the relationship of dental status to food diversity among older Japanese. Design and Setting: A community-based cross-sectional study conducted in the town of Tosa, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Methods: The study participants were 252 Japanese ( 84 men and 168 women, average age 81.2 years) and dentate participants were classified into three groups: 1-9 teeth, 10-19 teeth and 20 or more teeth. Food diversity was assessed as a validated measure of dietary quality using the 11-item Food Diversity Score Kyoto (FDSK-11), which evaluates frequency of consumption of 11 main food groups. Multivariable analysis of the differences in FDSK-11 score ranging from 0 to 11, with a higher score indicating greater food diversity, among the three dental status groups was conducted using general linear models. All the performed analyses were stratified by gender. Results: There was no association between dental status and food diversity score in models for men. In contrast, women with <= 9 teeth and with 10-19 teeth had significantly lower FDSK-11 scores than women with >= 20 teeth after adjusting for confounders (p<0.001 and p=0.009, respectively). Additionally, there was a trend toward lower scores for FDSK-11 with fewer teeth (p=0.001). Conclusion: A less varied diet, as indicated by low FDSK-11 score, was observed in female participants with fewer teeth. Tooth loss was associated with poor diet quality among older Japanese women.