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Shahkamal Hashmi, Nilofer Fatimi Safdar, Sidra Zaheer, Kashif Shafique School of Public Health, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, PakistanCorrespondence: Shahkamal HashmiSchool of Public Health, Dow University of Health Sciences, 111 Suparco Road, Gulzar e Hijri Scheme 33, Karachi, PakistanTel +923323377652Email shah.hashmi@duhs.edu.pkBackground and Purpose: The world is experiencing a nutritional transition, yet some regions of South East Asia are still living under the shadows of catastrophic nutritional indicators. Pakistan bears a high dual burden of both communicable and chronic diseases. However, a major contributing factor of both is poor diet and nutrition. The causal pathway of stunting, underweight, wasting, and micronutrient deficiencies has beginnings in less dietary diversity and food insecurity. Current literature on Pakistan and other South Asian countries regarding food insecurity and dietary diversity largely focus on women and children aged less than 5 years; however, ethnic and cultural dynamics of the populace concerning their food and dietary practices in Pakistan have not been well explored. It is essential to have a clear insight into the factors involving malnutrition in different clusters, especially different cultures and ethnicities to target specific areas of interventional strategies versus a uniform approach for all. This study aimed to explore the level of food insecurity and dietary diversity in all major ethnic groups of Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan.Methods: Using the multistage random sampling, 535 households from five major ethnic groups residing in Karachi were included in the study. To measure food insecurity and dietary diversity (primary and secondary outcome, respectively), we used a FAO standardized questionnaire (version 3, 2007) that was translated first into local languages, piloted, and employed to collect information.Results: Severe food insecurity levels had an inverse relationship with the household