BACKGROUND: Nutritional deficiencies are common in patients with coeliac disease and they can cause osteopenia among other associated diseases. Reduced consumption of milk and dairy products may play a major role in determining low bone mass in patients with coeliac disease. AIM: We aimed to investigate milk and dairy products consumption in patients with coeliac disease compared with the general population. METHODS: We examined the average consumption of milk and dairy products and the reasons for not consuming them. An online survey was sent by email to patients with coeliac disease on a gluten-free diet and aged 18-75. Matched controls were selected among volunteers who responded to the survey posted on the public access sites. Differences in frequencies and means between the two groups were calculated using the χ test and t-test, respectively. All tests were two-tailed with a significance level set at p<0.05. RESULTS: 176 patients with coeliac disease and 528 controls participated in the study. We found that 22.2% of the patients with coeliac disease and 19.9% of controls did not drink fluid milk on a regular basis; lactose-free milk was preferred by 20.4% of the patients with coeliac disease and by 19% of controls (p=0.69). Only a minority of patients with coeliac disease contacted a doctor before having lactose-free milk, despite this being led by the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms. More patients with coeliac disease than the general population reported a breath test before avoiding milk and dairy products. CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant difference between patients with coeliac disease and controls in regular milk consumption. Follow-up visits for patients with coeliac disease could avoid unnecessary dietary restrictions.