To investigate the associations between intake of antioxidant nutrients and risk of basal cell (BCC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the skin, we carried out a prospective study among 1001 randomly selected adults living in an Australian community. Intake of antioxidants was estimated in 1996. Incident, histologically-confirmed BCC and SCC were recorded between 1996 and 2004. High dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin was associated with a reduced incidence of SCC in persons who had a history of skin cancer at baseline (highest versus lowest tertile, multivariable adjusted relative risk (RR)=0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25-0.89; P for trend=0.02). In persons without a history of skin cancer at baseline, development of BCC was positively associated with intake of vitamins C and E from foods plus supplements (RR=3.1, 95% CI: 1.1-8.6; P for trend=0.03 and RR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.3; P for trend=0.02, respectively). In those with a skin cancer history at baseline, dietary intake in the second tertile for beta-carotene (multivariable adjusted RR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.2-4.1) and for vitamin E (multivariable adjusted RR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.1-3.9) was associated with increased BCC risk, with no trend, and similar results were seen in those with a specific history of BCC. These data suggest quite different associations between antioxidant intake and SCC compared with BCC, consistent with other evidence of their different causal pathways.