Although a generation-related difference in nutrient and food-group intake has been broadly recognized in the Japanese population, few studies have examined the difference and correlation of intakes with consideration of a family line and co-habitation status. We conducted a dietary survey using female college students in dietetic course in Aichi, Japan, and their mothers and grandmothers. A validated self-administered diet history questionnaire was used for assessment of intakes. Data from 110 families were included in the analysis. The means of 13 nutrients and 10 food groups (of the 15 and 14, respectively) showed significant differences among the three generations. A significant difference was observed in the carbohydrate, protein, saturated fatty acid, cholesterol, and fish intakes between the students living with their mothers and those apart. In the correlation analyses between generations, moderate correlation was observed for most nutrients and food groups between the students and their mothers living together (correlation range = 0.30-0.61 for nutrients, and = 0.21 -0.56 for food groups). A wide variation with no consistency was observed for the correlation between the students and their grandmothers (-0.18 -0.59 and -0.33 -0.65, respectively), No meaningful correlation was observed between any two generations living apart. Among the food groups examined, pulses, fish, and vegetables showed relatively large differences for the correlation between two groups with different living conditions. When living together, the correlation coefficients for nutrients and food groups between the students and their mothers decreased according to the increase in frequency of eating out by the students. These results suggest that living together and eating together were an important factor for the resemblance in dietary habits between generations in the population with a marked generation-related difference in intakes. (J Community Nutrition 5(2) : 93-104, 2003)