The Care Commission said it was “concerned” at the high number of complaints it received on the issue.
In 2006/07 it received 91 complaints about eating, drinking and nutrition in care homes, with dehydration a major concern.
It served improvement notices on 10 care homes around Scotland, ordering them to enforce improvements in the quality of nutrition and hydration.
The Care Commission report, titled Eating Well In Care Homes For Older People, makes several recommendations to help improve standards of nutritional care.
Susan Brimelow, its director of healthcare regulation, said: “People in care homes are among the most vulnerable in our community.
“They depend on the care home and its staff to provide balanced meals and ready access to as much water and other liquids as they need.
“This report aims to make people aware of the standards of good practice we expect all care homes to follow. There is plenty of room to improve.
“We are concerned about the high numbers of complaints we receive and the enforcement action we have had to take to ensure the safety and welfare of people living in care homes.”
The study analysed inspections of 303 care homes for older people in Scotland in 2006/07 and found that 51% met the National Care Standards in all the five areas regarding nutrition which they looked at, meaning 49% did not.
The report said the findings were “generally positive”.
The researchers found that 85% of care homes had a written food and nutrition policy and 94% said they had access to an NHS dietician.
However, only 40% had their menus nutritionally assessed by a dietician, and some menus had not been planned to meet the individual needs of clients.
Some did not provide enough soft, easily chewed food, or food with enough energy to stop older people losing weight.
Almost a third (29%) did not screen people for the risk of under-nutrition, while 34% did not screen people for dehydration when they came to live in the care home.
The Care Commission upheld or partially upheld 76 of the 91 complaints it received.
Dehydration was the biggest issue, with complaints that people were not encouraged to drink regularly, or drinks were out of reach.
It upheld nine complaints about people who were not given enough help to eat and drink.
There were also complaints about dietary needs not being met, lack of fruit and vegetables, and unplanned weight loss or under nutrition.
As a result of the complaints, the Care Commission made 101 requirements and 38 recommendations.
It called for improved awareness of the National Care Standards for eating well and said there should be more staff training in the areas of eating, drinking and nutrition
It also urged the Scottish Government to support an integrated programme across all agencies including the NHS and care homes to improve nutritional care.
However, the Commission hailed the success of the “nutrition champions” pilot scheme - which has seen 50 care staff learn more about diet and nutrition for older people so that they could teach others and improve conditions.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Our national care standards set out the standards people can expect from meals in care homes and it's encouraging that the Care Commission cites a number of examples of good practice.
"Clearly any complaints are concerning but 91 complaints from a care home population of 37,300 shows the overwhelming majority of residents and their families are happy with the service provided.
"However, there is clearly room for improvement and we will use this report's findings to inform future development work on nutrition in care homes."
But Labour called the failings "shameful" and demanded Scottish Government action.
Labour MSP Johann Lamont said: "This report follows a damning investigation by BBC's Panorama programme which found serious failings in the way elderly people are treated in care.
"The minister must intervene as a matter of urgency to investigate how serious the problem is in order to better protect vulnerable people.
"Elderly people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and families need to know that their loved ones are being looked after properly."
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