Dietary diabetes risk reduction score (DDRRs) is inversely associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Given the importance of the association between body fat and insulin resistance and the effect of diet on these parameters, this study aimed to investigate the association between DDRRS and body composition parameters, including the visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and skeletal muscle mass (SMM). This study was conducted on 291 overweight and obese women aged 18–48 years old recruited from 20 Tehran Health Centers in 2018. The anthropometric indices, biochemical parameters, and body composition were measured. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to calculate DDRRs. Linear regression analysis was used to examine the association between DDRRs and body composition indicators. The mean (SD) age of participants was 36.67 (9.10) years. After adjustment for potential confounders, VAI (β = 0.27, 95% CI = − 0.73, 1.27, Ptrend= 0.052), LAP (β = 8.14, 95% CI = − 10.54, 26.82, Ptrend= 0.069), TF (β = − 1.41, 95% CI = 11.45, 17.30, Ptrend= 0.027), trunk fat percent (TF%) (β = − 21.55, 95% CI = − 44.51, 1.61, Ptrend= 0.074), body fat mass (BFM) (β = − 3.26, 95% CI = − 6.08, − 0.44, Ptrend= 0.026), visceral fat area (VFA) (β = − 45.75, 95% CI = − 86.10, − 5.41, Ptrend= 0.026), waist-to-hip ratio (WHtR) (β = − 0.014, 95% CI = − 0.031, 0.004, Ptrend= 0.066), visceral fat level (VFL) (β = − 0.38, 95% CI = − 5.89, 5.12, Ptrend= 0.064), fat mass index (FMI) (β = − 1.15, 95% CI = − 2.28, − 0.02, Ptrend= 0.048) decreased significantly over tertiles of DDRRs, and also there was no significant association between SMM and DDRRs tertiles (β = − 0.57, 95% CI = − 1.69, 0.53, Ptrend= 0.322). The findings of this study demonstrated that participants with higher adherence to the DDRRs had lower VAI (β = 0.78 vs 0.27) and LAP (β = 20.73 vs 8.14). However, there was no significant association between DDRRs and VAI, LAP and SMM, which are mentioned as the primary outcomes. Future studies with larger sample of both genders are needed to investigate our findings.