Objective. To examine the validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) to identify dietary patterns in an adult Mexican population. Materials and methods. A 140-item SFFQ and two 24-hour dietary recalls (24DRs) were administered. Foods were categorized into 29 food groups used to derive dietary patterns via factor analy­sis. Pearson and intraclass correlations coefficients between dietary pattern scores identified from the SFFQ and 24DRs were assessed. Results. Pattern 1 was high in snacks, fast food, soft drinks, processed meats and refined grains; pattern 2 was high in fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and dairy products; and pattern 3 was high in legumes, eggs, sweetened foods and sugars. Pearson correlation oefficients between the SFFQ and the 24DRs for these patterns were 0.66 (P<0.001), 0.41 (P<0.001) and 0.29 (P=0.193) respectively. Conclusions. Our data indicate reasonable validity of the SFFQ, using fac­tor analysis, to derive major dietary patterns in comparison with two 24DR.