This study was conducted to examine contribution of specific foods to absolute intake and between-person variation in nutrients consumed by 2037 adults living in Korean rural area using one day 24-hour recall method. To measure contribution of food to absolute nutrient intake, all foods consumed were ranked by percentages calculated as the sum of the nutrient intake contributed by a given food divided by the total nutrient intake from al categories. To assess between-person variability in nutrient intake, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used with total nutrient intake from al foods as the dependent variable and the nutrient amount from each of all foods as independent variables. The kind and the number of foods necessary to account for the variation in nutrient intake among persons varied significantly depending on the nutrient. The nutrients contributing more than 80% of total intake with a few number of food items were ${eta}$-carotene(ll), vitamin C(15) and vitamin A(16). Foods sometimes overlooked as important sources were found in some instances to be quantitatively important to population intake. Even though rice and Korean cabbage kimchi do not contain much nutrients in quantity, they made a major contribution to most nutrient intake of subjects because of large serving size and high frequency of intake. The food items and contributing order for between person variance was different from those of absolute intake. A large fraction of the variability of nutrient intake in this population was explained by a small number of foods. Fewer foods were required to explain a given proportion of the between-person variance in intake than to account for the same proportion of the popylation`s total intake. These data may be useful in the development of dietary assessment instrument and in nutrition education. (Korean J Nutrition 33(8) : 882-889, 2000)