BACKGROUND: Obesity is characterized by deposition of excess fat in the body . It is a chronic state of free radical formation through diverse pathways. Oxidative stress may be the unifying mechanism underlying the development of co–morbidities in obesity. The sources of oxidative stress observed  in obesity are hyperglycemia, increased tissue lipid levels, increased free radical formation and chronic inflammation. The increased free radicals cause increased oxidative stress. This alters the serum albumin forming ‘Ischaemia–modified albumin’ (IMA).  OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to correlate IMA with Body mass index (BMI) and IMA with Malondialdehyde (MDA)   MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study was conducted in tertiary care hospital. A total of 105 subjects were divided into 3 groups based on BMI , according to standard clinical definition into : normal weight(controls), overweight and obese. Blood samples were taken to measure serum IMA, plasma malondialdehyde,  serum lipid profile and plasma fasting glucose. RESULT: The present study showed that the levels of IMA, malondialdehyde, fasting glucose were significantly raised in overweight and in obese group as compared to normal weight controls. Highly significant correlations were seen between IMA and BMI and between IMA and MDA. CONCLUSION : As there is a positive correlation  observed between IMA and MDA ,which is a known oxidative stress marker, IMA can be used as an oxidative stress marker in obesity.