AbstractObjectiveChildhood bullying is associated with a range of adverse mental health outcomes, and here we investigated the association between bullying exposure and eating disorders (EDs).MethodIn this case–control study, we compared bullying history in individuals with EDs with community controls. Participants (n = 890, mean age = 29.50 ± 10.60) completed an online self‐report battery assessing bullying history and lifetime history of bulimia nervosa (BN), binge‐eating disorder (BED), and anorexia nervosa (binge‐eating/purging (AN‐BP) or restrictive (AN‐R) subtype). Logistic regressions were performed to estimate odds ratios (ORs).ResultsIn the combined ED sample, individuals with a history of any ED were significantly more likely than controls to have experienced bullying victimization during childhood or adolescence (ORs = 1.99–3.30), particularly verbal, indirect, and digital bullying. Bullying prior to ED onset was also significantly more common than bullying within the same time frame for controls (ORs = 1.75–2.16). Further analysis showed that these effects were due to individuals with BN or BED reporting significantly more lifetime (p < .001) and premorbid bullying (p = .002) than controls, while individuals in the other diagnostic subgroups did not differ significantly from controls.DiscussionOur results confirm an association between bullying and binge‐eating/purging ED subtypes. Prospective studies are needed to establish bullying as a risk factor for EDs.