Oral cancer accounts for approximately 5% of all cancers globally, while in India it is about 40%. It is considered as a disease of elderly. This study analyze the recent trends in oral squamous cell carcinoma and to describe the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC over a period of 7 years in a tertiary health care center in Southern India. Out of 495 histologically proven cases, 52 (10.5%) were under 40 years. The mean age for males was 70.3 and for females 68.6. Most common site was tongue (46%). Moderately differentiated carcinoma was the most common histological subtype (75.5%).Habit had a significant influence in male patients when compared to females (p value<0.012). p16 protein expression profile was studied in cases below 40 years of age  and observed that 31 patients (59.5%) among the 52 patients showed p16 positivity.