BackgroundDiet quality during infancy can influence nutrient intake and ultra-processed foods (UPF) consumption throughout later childhood. ObjectiveThis study investigated the predictive validity of Infant Diet Quality Index (IDQI) scores from 0-1 years of age and consumption of select nutrients and UPFs at different time points in low-income children ages 2-5 years. MethodsDietary surveys and 24-hour dietary recalls collected between ages 0-12 months from 2,613 Special Supplemental Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Infant Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (ITFPS-2) participants were used to assess infant diet quality by final IDQI score ranging from 0 (non-adherence to dietary guidelines) to 1 (complete adherence to guidelines). Single 24-hour recalls collected across multiple time points per child between ages 2 and 5 years were used to determine nutrient intakes: vitamin B12 (μg), vitamin D (μg), calcium (mg), iron (mg), zinc (mg), potassium (mg), saturated fat (g), and dietary fiber (g), added sugars (g). Likewise, Nova was used to classify foods (to estimate the percentage of energy from foods) by level of industrial processing at each point in time across ages 2-5. Survey-weighted regression analyses estimated associations between total IDQI score and nutrient intake and percentage of energy consumption from each Nova food group at each age between 2-5 years. ResultsIDQI scores based on diet quality from 0-1 years of age were positively associated with children’s dietary fiber and potassium intake at ages 2-5. Additionally, IDQI was negatively associated with added sugar intake. No associations were observed between IDQI and saturated fat consumption. IDQI scores at age 1 were positively associated with the percentage of energy attributed to unprocessed/minimally processed foods (20% to 23%) and negatively associated with UPF consumption at ages 2-5 (-24% to -29%). ConclusionIDQI predicts intake of select nutrients and UPF consumption among low-income U.S. children ages 2-5. Clinical Trial RegistrationFeeding My Baby – A National WIC Study, NCT02031978, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02031978. De-identified individual participant data from the WIC ITFPS-2 study is publicly available through USDA Ag Data Commons.