Abstract Background A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using metabolite concentrations as proxies for enzymatic activity, suggested that two variants: rs2014355 in the gene encoding short-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (ACADS) and rs11161510 in the gene encoding medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (ACADM) impair fatty acid β-oxidation. Chronic exposure to fatty acids due to an impaired β-oxidation may down-regulate the glucose-stimulated insulin release and result in an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to investigate whether the two variants associate with altered insulin release following an oral glucose load or with T2D. Methods The variants were genotyped using KASPar^® PCR SNP genotyping system and investigated for associations with estimates of insulin release and insulin sensitivity following an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in a random sample of middle-aged Danish individuals (n _ACADS = 4,324; n _ACADM = 4,337). The T2D-case-control study involved a total of ~8,300 Danish individuals (n _ACADS = 8,313; n _ACADM = 8,344). Results In glucose-tolerant individuals the minor C-allele of rs2014355 of ACADS associated with reduced measures of serum insulin at 30 min following an oral glucose load (per allele effect (β) = -3.8% (-6.3%;-1.3%), P = 0.003), reduced incremental area under the insulin curve (β = -3.6% (-6.3%;-0.9%), P = 0.009), reduced acute insulin response (β = -2.2% (-4.2%;0.2%), P = 0.03), and with increased insulin sensitivity ISI_Matsuda (β = 2.9% (0.5%;5.2%), P = 0.02). The C-allele did not associate with two other measures of insulin sensitivity or with a derived disposition index. The C-allele was not associated with T2D in the case-control analysis (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.96-1.18, P = 0.21). rs11161510 of ACADM did not associate with any indices of glucose-stimulated insulin release or with T2D. Conclusions In glucose-tolerant individuals the minor C-allele of rs2014355 of ACADS was associated with reduced measures of glucose-stimulated insulin release during an OGTT, a finding which in part may be mediated through an impaired β-oxidation of fatty acids.