Background : The single most important problem that India is facing now is the uncontrolled growth of population. Family planning deals with reproductive health of mother, having adequate birth spacing, avoiding undesired pregnancies and abortions, preventing sexually transmitted diseases and improving the quality of life of mother, fetus and family as a whole. Objective: To assess the extent of use and ascertain factors influencing the adoption of various Family Planning methods in the urban slum area of Kolkata. Materials and methods: A Community based, Cross– sectional study using pre–designed and pre– tested schedule was conducted in 300 eligible couples in the age group of 15–45 years. Women of eligible couples were the primary target group and the husbands were the secondary target group. Statistical analysis: Chi square test. Results: Of the 150 eligible couples, 29% were currently practicing while 18.7% had ever practiced prior to the study period and 52.3% had never practiced any family planning method. Tubectomy acceptance was more in the currently practicing women followed by oral pill users and IUCD users. Association between increase in age of wives, duration of married life and number of living children of eligible couples with family planning practice was found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: The current practice of family planning methods by the slum dwellers was very low and tubectomy was the most preferred method of the eligible couples.