chronic inflammation contributes to a wide range of metabolic disorders through the influence of diet. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) was developed to measure the inflammation potential of diet. Uygur adults have a high prevalence of obesity, but the causes of this condition remain unclear. In this study we investigated the association between DII and adipocytokines among overweight and obese Uygur adults. a total of 283 obese and overweight Uygur adults were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, dietary surveys and biochemical indicators were collected by standardized protocols. The DII score was calculated using a valid and reliable 93-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Linear regression was used to estimate the relationship between DII and adipocytokines. the DII score was 1.35 ± 1.08, ranging from -2.14 to +3.11. There was a significant inverse correlation between DII and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the unadjusted model (β = -0.12, SE = 0.05, p = 0.02), and this remained after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index (BMI). DII was negatively associated with adiponectin (ADPN) ( = -203.15, p = 0.04) and positively associated with leptin (LEP) concentration ( = 1.64, p = 0.002) after adjustment for age, gender and BMI. a pro-inflammatory diet, as indicated by a higher DII score, is associated with adipose tissue inflammation in Uygur adults and supports the hypothesis that diet may play a role in the development of obesity through inflammatory modulation mechanisms. A healthy anti-inflammatory diet is feasible for obesity intervention in the future.