OBJECTIVES: To study the impact of migration on food consumption among Indian factory workers and their siblings and spouses. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess diet using an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative FFQ from which intake of 184 commonly consumed food items was obtained. SETTINGS: Participants recruited from factory sites in Bangalore, Lucknow, Nagpur and Hyderabad. SUBJECTS: The sample comprised 7049 participants (41·6 % female), and included urban, migrant and rural groups. RESULTS: Thirteen food items were eaten by the greatest proportion of individuals on a daily basis. These were all indigenous foods. The proportion of people consuming tandoori roti, dal with vegetables, potato and ghee on a daily basis was highest in the urban sample, intermediate in the migrant group and lowest in the rural group (P ≤ 0·01). The proportion of individuals consuming Western food on a weekly basis followed a similar trend. CONCLUSIONS: The diet of this sample is predominantly indigenous in nature, irrespective of migration status, with the prevalence of daily Western food consumption being minimal.