Objective To analyze the relationship between dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome (MS) in Guangdong Province. Methods A survey was undertook based on the data from chronic disease and nutrition monitoring. Dietary patterns of adults in Guangdong Province were exploring by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA was used to identify dietary patterns among adult in Guangdong Province and unconditional Logistic regression model was used to analysis the effects of different dietary patterns on MS. Results Three evident dietary patterns were derived by PCA including “modern fast food dietary pattern”, “high plant-based dietary pattern” and “coastal special dietary pattern”. Rice and its products, fruits, milk, instant foods, noodles and their products, eggs were the main foods of “modern fast food dietary pattern”; light-colored vegetables, refined vegetable oil, salt, other livestock meat, starch/sugar, beans were the main foods of “high plant-based dietary pattern”; dark vegetables, light vegetables, fish and shrimps, refined animal oil, refined vegetable oil, and pork were the main foods of “coastal special dietary pattern”. After adjusting for confounding factors, the modern fast food dietary pattern was a risk factor for hyperglycemia [odds ratio(OR)=2.161,confidence interval(95%CI)=1.173-3.981], and high plant-based dietary pattern was a protective factor for MS(OR=0.494,95%CI=0.253-0.963). Conclusion High plant dietary patterns could help reduce the risk of MS or reduce the abnormal components of MS. The dietary structure and eating habits should be adjusted according to local conditions to prevent and control the occurrence of MS.