The associations of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), aromatic amino acids (AAAs) and essential amino acids with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) risk have been widely investigated. However, the individual amino acid associated with NAFLD risk remained inconclusive. The present study aimed to investigate the associations between individual amino acid intake and NAFLD risk in the Chinese elderly.Methods: A community-based health check-up program was conducted from Mar. to Nov. 2020 in Qingdao, China. NAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasonography accompanied by epidemiological investigation. The dietary intakes of amino acids were investigated with 3-day, 24-hour dietary records and calculated by Nutrition Calculator software. The multivariable-adjusted logistic regression model was used to investigate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between quartiles of amino acid intakes and NAFLD risk.Results: A total of 1328 participants, aged 65-96 years, participated in the health check-up program. Of these, 400 NAFLD subjects were identified, and 400 participants were randomly selected as controls and matched by gender and age (± 3 years), with a 1:1 case-to-control ratio. Compared the highest category with the lowest category, intakes of lysine (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.97), threonine (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.97), valine (OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.96), aromatic amino acids (AAAs) (OR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.93) were inversely associated with NAFLD risk after adjustment for potential confounding factors (all P for trend < 0.05). Dose-response analysis showed that 1000 mg increment of AAAs was associated with reduced 16% risk of NAFLD (OR = 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.96). Dietary increments of 750 mg/d threonine (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.97), 950 mg/d valine (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.98), or 1700 mg/d lysine (OR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.63, 1.00) were associated with a 20% reduction in the NAFLD risk (all P for linearity < 0.05).Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that higher intakes of lysine, threonine, valine and AAAs were associated with a lower NAFLD risk. Dietary increases in milk, eggs and deep-sea fish, which are rich in the amino acids mentioned above, might contribute to protecting against NAFLD in the elderly.