We have analyzed the distribution of allele fre-quencies at five Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (STR) loci (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS391 and DYS393) among five anthropologically distinct ethnic groups of India, namely,Konkanasthas, Marathas, Nairs, Ezhavas and Muslims. Konka-nasthas and Marathas belong to the state of Maharashtra in Western India and both the population groups speak “Marathi”, an Indo-Eu- ropean language. Nairs, Ezhavas and Muslims belong to Kollam district of Kerala state in South India and all the three population groups speak “Malayalam”, an Indo-Dravidian language. About 220 random, healthy and normal male volunteers were studied at these loci