Abstract Aim The objectives of the present study were to compare bone characteristics with quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and other metabolic factors relevant to bone health in subjects with normal glucose tolerance, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and diabetes mellitus (DM) and to evaluate the association of various laboratory factors with bone characteristics qualified by QCT. Methods This cross-sectional population-based survey of diabetes and metabolic syndrome was conducted in Pinggu, China. The oral glucose tolerance test was conducted and QCT was tested. The volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) of lumbar vertebrae 2 through 4 was measured. Results Among the 4001 eligible participants, the average age was 47.41 ± 11.86 years. The prevalence of osteoporosis evaluated by QCT was 10.6% in the normal glucose tolerance group, 14.8% in the IGT group, and 16.9% in the DM group. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that age was negatively associated with vBMD, whereas body mass index and waist-hip ratio were positively associated with vBMD across all participants. However, the levels of hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose, and postprandial glucose were not associated with vBMD after adjusting for sex, age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, FT4, FT3, thyroid-stimulating hormone, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio, creatinine, and serum uric acid. Conclusions We found that the prevalence of osteoporosis evaluated by QCT was 10.6% in the normal glucose tolerance group, 14.8% in the IGT group, and 16.9% in the DM group. The levels of hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose, and postprandial glucose were not associated with vBMD after adjusting for metabolic factors in a Chinese sample.