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Very little is known about the occlusal wear pattern in the Neanderthal posterior dentition. Usually dental wear is closely related to the physical properties of the ingested food, and consequently can be used to obtain information about diet. Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have been mostly based on the analysis of accompanying faunal remains and isotopic signatures of bones and tooth enamel, suggesting that they exploited larger portions of animal proteins from large and medium-sized herbivores. Probably these studies may do not reflect the bulk diet, tending to underestimate plant consumption and to overestimate meat consumption. In the present work the occlusal wear pattern of maxillary molars of Homo neanderthalensis (N=19) and early Homo sapiens (N=12)have been analyzed, applying non-destructive methods based on virtual three-dimensional polygonal models generated from surface scanning of dental casts. The sample groups occupied different geographical areas at different chronological times. The 3D digital tooth models were analyzed using the “Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis” (OFA) method (Kullmer et al. 2009), describing and quantifying the occlusal wear pattern derived from two wear facet angles (dip and dip direction), wear facet area and occlusal relief index (ORI). The OFA method provides information about the dynamics of the occlusal relationships and their function, permitting the reconstruction of the mandibular movements responsible for the contacts created during the chewing cycle. Since jaw movements and diet are closely related, the results obtained, can be used to interpret the diet of the two Pleistocene hominin species. In order to evaluate how dietary differences influence the occlusal wear pattern, upper molars of modern hunter-gatherers (N=42) with known diet and different dietary habits, have been included in the sample and compared with those of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. Results show that within the modern hunter-gatherers sample, the occlusal wear pattern of carnivorous populations differs from those who relied on a mixed-diet. In particular, the study of relative facet areas clearly distinguish meat-eaters from mixed-diet hunter-gatherers, while ORI results and wear facet inclinations (dip angle) seem to reflect directly the abrasiveness of the diet, including the influence of exogenous materials during food preparation. The Neanderthal occlusal wear pattern is characterized by an ecogeographic variation, suggesting the exploitation of different food resources. In particular Neanderthals who inhabited relatively warm environments of southern Europe and the Near East exhibit an occlusal wear pattern different from those of meat-eaters hunter-gatherers from tempered and cooler regions, displaying some features similar to those of Bushmen. These results suggest the exploitation of a broad variety of food sources. The analysis of the occlusal wear pattern in Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens who inhabited Europe during the cooler Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS3) shows many similarities between the two hominid species. These results indicate the exploitation of similar and low-diversified food sources, based mostly on the consumption of animal proteins, as suggested through the clear similarities with the wear patterns found in modern meat-eaters hunter-gatherers. In both studied groups, Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens the occlusal wear pattern is characterized by high ORI and dip angle values, suggesting the intake of a low-abrasive diet, probably due to the absence of sophisticated food preparation techniques introducing external silica grains, e.g. from soil (grinding of seeds) or plant cells, as those, seen in modern hunter-gatherer populations. The analysis of the occlusal fingerprints in Neanderthal and early European Homo sapiens upper molars suggests that both species followed very similar adaptive dietary strategies, based on a distinctive versatility and flexibility in the daily diet, depending on availability of resources according to environmental circumstances.