AbstractSeveral studies have investigated the relation between benign breast diseases (BBD) and food intake. However, dietary patterns of these patients have not been taken into consideration up to now. The aim of this study is to determine the association between dietary patterns and BBD. In this case–control study, ninety-six patients with BBD and seventy controls were selected from women attending the Iranian Center for Breast Cancer affiliated with Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research. Demographic, physical activity and semi-quantitative FFQ were completed. The main dietary patterns were extracted by factor analysis. Two major dietary patterns emerged: Healthy dietary pattern including fish, poultry, eggs, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, oil and mayonnaise, olives, fruits; and Unhealthy dietary pattern including red meats, organ and processed meats, high-fat dairy products, refined grains, sweets and desserts, animal and solid fats. After adjustment for age, BMI and energy intake, the participants in the highest tertile of Healthy dietary pattern (OR 0·44; 95 % CI 0·20, 0·99) were less likely to have BBD compared with those in the first tertile. After adjustment for other confounding variables, this relationship still remained close to significant level. However, higher consumption of Unhealthy dietary pattern was not associated with the risk of BBD. In conclusion, Healthy dietary pattern might be inversely associated with the risk of BBD; however, this result should be interpreted with caution. Future studies are needed to confirm our findings.