Objective To assess the association between early adiposity rebound (AR) and indices of obesity and metabolic risk in 5-year-old children. Methods Based on Ma’anshan Birth Cohort Study (MABC), single live births born in Ma'anshan of Anhui province from October 2013 to April 2015 were followed for up to 5 years consecutively. As of August 2019, 720 children with continuous measurements (≥8 times) and metabolic indicators were obtained. Physical examination and laboratory tests were used to obtain information on the birth status, length/height, weight, waist circumference, body composition and metabolic indicators of children. The 2 test, F test, t-test, non-parametric test, general linear model and logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results 43.5% of the children had AR≤4 years. After controlling for gender, it was found that earlier AR was associated with overweight/obesity (OR=2.71, 95%CI: 1.81~4.05), larger waist circumference (OR=1.88, 95%CI: 1.25~2.82), and body fat percentage ≥90th percentile (OR=2.09, 95%CI: 1.26~3.48). In the earlier AR group, the insulin resistance and metabolic score were higher, but the difference was not statistically significant. At 5 years of age, the prevalence of obesity and overweight was 6.0% and 12.8%, respectively. Children with overweight/obesity, larger waist circumference, higher waist-to-weight ratio and body fat percentage ≥ 90th percentile were associated with higher insulin resistance and metabolic score, and all the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.001). Conclusion Earlier AR increased the risk of overweight/obesity, larger waist circumference, and body fat percentage ≥90th percentile at age of 5 years. Each index of the commonly used measures of childhood obesity was closely related with insulin resistance and metabolic risk factors at 5 years old.