Context. Most of the contribution to dust emission in clusters of galaxies comes from late-type galaxies. However, several ejection processes of material from these galaxies could introduce dust in the intracluster media. Even a relatively low abundance of this dust could act as an efficient cooling agent and have a relevant role in the evolution of clusters. Aims: We present a study to estimate the dust content in galaxy clusters. Methods: This was done by using one the most complete existing catalogues of galaxy clusters based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data and following two methods: the first one compares the colours of samples of galaxies in the background of clusters with those of galaxies in the field. Using this method, we have explored clustercentric distances up to 6 Mpc; this covers at least 2 × R200 for all the clusters in the sample. The galaxies used in this first method were selected from the SDSS-DR9, among those having reliable photometry and accurate estimation of photometric redshifts. Using the colours of background galaxies, we analyzed several regions at galactic latitudes | b | > 20° and >50°. The results are largely independent of the galactic cut applied. At | b | > 20°, the sample contains 56 985 clusters in the redshift range 0.05