 Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) is a simple, convenient and widely used tool for the measurement of body composition in population surveys and surveillance. Prediction equations based on BIA applicable to preschool children are available but are based on total body water estimation and have not been developed across multiple ethnic groups. Our aim was to develop a BIA-based equation in a multi-ethnic sample of 2-year old using fat-free mass (FFM) from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as criterion measure.