Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are pentameric ionotropic receptors composed of a combination of α and β subunits. Human genetic association and preclinical studies have shown a key role of α5 containing nAChRs (α5*nAChRs) in the risk to develop nicotine addiction. Tobacco smoking is highly comorbid with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorders. Interestingly, genetic variation at CHRNA5 has also been associated with higher body mass index (BMI) in never smokers, but lower BMI in current smokers, and increased appetence for food in rodents. Here we sought to investigate the role of α5*nAChRs in eating disorders with a compulsive component in a rat model. Using an intermittent limited access to high fat diet protocol, we observed that rats with limited and daily access to margarine for several weeks develop a binge eating-like behavior. Interestingly, galantamine, administered at a dose proposed to induce α5*nAChR allosteric modulation, reduced margarine intake in bingeing rats. To better characterize the role of α5*nAChR in these observations, we next assessed the effects of galantamine on binge-like and compulsive-like eating in rats knockout for Chrna5. Remarkably, using quantitative PCR, we identified alterations in the expression of Chrna5, but not of other nicotinic subunit genes, specifically in the dorsomedial striatum and the prefontal cortex of bingeing rats, brain regions crucially involved in executive behavioral control. Altogether, our data emphasize the role of α5*nAChRs in the loss of control over eating and suggest that they may represent interesting therapeutical targets notably for more favorable outcomes in smokers with comorbid issue.