OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of episodes of binge eating and to assess potential associations with nutritional status, satisfaction with current body weight, self-rated health status and self-rated body weight. DESIGN: A cross-sectional population-based study. Binge eating was assessed using adapted questions from the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns and was defined as binging one or more times over the last 3 months before the interview. SETTING: City of Pelotas, southern Brazil. SUBJECTS: Individuals (n 2097) aged 20-59 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of binge eating and recurrent binge eating was 7·9 % and 2·7 %, respectively. In the adjusted analysis, obesity, fair/poor self-rated health status and body dissatisfaction remained strongly associated with binge eating. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed a high prevalence of binge eating among adults in Pelotas, being higher among younger women, the obese and those who desired to weigh less. The current results are informative, but longitudinal studies would be needed to demonstrate the causal relationship between these events.