Young adulthood represents an influential transitional period marked by poor dietary habits and excess weight gain. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a major source of excess caloric intake among young adults, yet little is known about the correlates of SSB consumption. This study examines the individual and situational correlates of SSB consumption, using real-time assessment of young adults’ eating occasions (EO). Dietary, sociodemographic and health behaviour data were collected during the Measuring Eating in Everyday Life (MEALS) study (n= 680 adults, 18–30 y). Participants reported all foods and beverages consumed over 3-4 non-consecutive days using a Smartphone food diary app. For every EO, the situational characteristics such as eating location, purchase location, presence of others and activities while eating were recorded. Level of SSB consumption was determined using two approaches: frequency of SSBs per day, and amount (grams) of SSBs per day. Associations for individual level and EO level characteristics with level of SSB consumption (low/high) were analysed using multilevel logistic regression in Mplus. Overall, 238 (35%) participants consumed SSBs of whom 48% consumed ≥98 g/d and 56% consumed ≥0.33 frequency per day. High SSB consumers (intakes ≥98 g/d) had a lower odds of being female (OR [95% CI]: 0.48 [0.29, 0.90]) and a higher odds of being overweight/obese (1.87 [1.03, 3.40]), consuming SSBs at work/university, compared to at home (2.14 [1.03, 4.45]), and purchasing SSBs from a convenience outlet, compared to a supermarket/grocery store (3.60 [1.53, 8.46]). High SSB consumption, based on frequency per day, was associated with overweight/obesity. In conclusion, over a third of young adults in this study consumed SSBs and high SSB consumption was associated with both individual and situational factors. Future research should explore how EOs containing SSBs differ from other beverage EOs, in relation to their accompanying foods and situational characteristics.