The nutritional status of under 5 year children is a key indicator of development of any state. Wide variation exists in the nutritional status of under 5 year children among the states and the districts. Therefore, the present analysis was done to know the variation among the districts of Telangana state. A composite index was developed based on nutritional status of under 5 year children for ranking of the districts which may be suggestive of overall development of the district. It was observed that Hyderabad district ranked first with composite index of 0.987, while Adilabad and Nizamabad ranked last with composite indexes of 0.052 and 0.074, respectively. The coverage of improved sanitation facilities, mothers literacy status, antenatal care practices, institutional delivery were observed to be good, while prevalence of anaemia was low in Hyderabad district as compared to other districts. In conclusion, Hyderabad district had better nutritional status of under 5 year childrencompared to other districts and is associated with literacy of mothers, antenatal care, delivery practices, and child feeding practices.

underweight, stunting, wasting, composite index, Telangana state.