The present study explored the association between dietary vitamin D and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) risk. The multiethnic cohort (MEC) includes more than 215 000 Caucasians, African Americans, Native Hawaiians, Japanese Americans and Latinos, aged 45–75. After 10 years of follow-up, 939 incident NHL cases were identified. Risk was estimated using proportional hazards' models adjusted for possible confounders. Vitamin D intake was not associated with NHL risk in the entire cohort (Ptrend = 0·72 for men and Ptrend = 0·83 for women), but significantly lowered disease risk in African American women (hazard ratio (HR) = 0·50, 95 % CI: 0·28, 0·90, Ptrend = 0·03) and was borderline protective in African American men (HR = 0·68; 95 % CI: 0·39, 1·19; Ptrend = 0·31) when the highest to the lowest tertile was compared. In NHL subtype analyses, a 19, 36 and 32 % lowered risk, although not significant, was observed for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma and small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia in women, respectively. High dietary intake of vitamin D did not show a protective effect against NHL within the MEC except among African Americans, possibly because vitamin D production due to sun exposure is limited in this population.