Technical Abstract: Childhood obesity is a growing public health problem. This study examined the association between eating patterns and overweight status in a cross-sectional sample of 1562 10-year-olds (65% Euro-American (EA) and 35% African-American (AA); 49% male). A single 24-hour dietary recall was collected on each participant. Overweight was defined as BMI >= 85th percentile using CDC reference standards. The percentage of 10-year-olds overweight was 24%; being highest among EA males (27%) and lowest among AA males (19%). Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the association between eating patterns and overweight. Consumption of sweetened beverages (58% soft drink, 20% fruit flavor drink, 19% tea, and 3% coffee) (p < 0.001), SWEETS (p < 0.001), MEATS (p < 0.051), and total consumption of low quality foods (p < 0.01) were positively associated with overweight status. Total amount of food consumed, specifically from snacks, was positively associated with overweight status. There was a lack of congruency in the types of eating patterns associated with overweight status across the four ethnic-gender groups. The percent variable explained by each eating pattern ranged from < 1% to 5%. These results demonstrate that a number of eating patterns were associated with overweight status. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings in a longitudinal sample having multiple days of assessment.