Caloric restriction (CR) reduces body weight and systemic inflammation, but effects on adipose tissue under dietary lipid overload are controversial. We evaluated the effects of CR-induced weight loss with a high-fat diet (HF) on adipose tissue inflammation of obese mice. Male mice were assigned into LF (low-fat diet) and HF. After 8-wk, HF was reassigned for another 7-wk into HF – kept at HF; LFAL - switched from HF to LF ad libitum; RHF - fed HF calorie-restricted to reach LFAL body weight. Serum markers, adipocytokines, morphology, and inflammatory infiltrates in retroperitoneal adipose tissue (RAT) were accessed. LFAL and RHF reduced body weights, equaling to LF. LFAL restored almost all inflammatory markers as LF, except tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and adiponectin. Compared to HF, RHF lowered visceral adiposity, retroperitoneal adipocyte sizes, RAT inflammatory cell infiltration as well as TNF-α, interleukin-6, hepatic and serum C-reactive protein, which were higher than LFAL; adiponectin and MCP-1 did not change. CR with high-fat diet reduced body weight and attenuated visceral adiposity, but did not fully recover visceral tissue inflammation. Novelty bullets • Caloric restriction in a high-fat diet ameliorated visceral adiposity. • Caloric restriction in a high-fat diet did not recover visceral adipose tissue inflammation.