Intestinal parasitic infections are important public health problem and are globally endemic. It constitutes single worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality.  The prevalence is presumed to be high in developing countries like India probably due to poor sanitary conditions and improper personal hygiene. This study was estimate the burden of the intestinal parasitic infections and the current pattern of distribution in patients attending a tertiary care setting in Puducherry, India. This is a retrospective study carried out over a period of 5 years (Aug 2011 to Jun 2016). Stool samples of patients received in the parasitology section, Dept. of Microbiology, JIPMER were subjected to routine stool investigations. The results were recorded, and data was presented in the form of frequency and distribution. A total of 1508 fresh stool samples were screened, of which 22.2% (n=335) were positive for various intestinal parasites. Overall, protozoal infections (16.25%) were higher than helminthic infections (5.97%). On the whole, Entamoeba species showed higher prevalence (39.7%) followed by Blastocystis (13.4%) and Ascaris (11.34%). Among the coccidian parasites identified, Cystoisospora showed maximum positivity (2.7%). There was a noticeable female predominance pattern (56%) compared to male showing 43.9% positivity. The results conclude that Entamoeba spp., and Ascaris are the most common protozoal and helminthic parasites respectively present in the study population. In our study population, age group between 31-40 years are predominantly infected with these parasites. Apart from the early diagnosis and effective treatment, health education is a requisite to control infections in developing countries.

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