Background: Autism is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) characterized by severe, complex and permanent behavioral and cognitive disabilities. Clinically dened by the child's behavior and performance, this condition affects all areas of performance. Research has shown that parents of children with autism experience more difculty and frustration with caregiving and behavior management than parents of children with other disabilities. Pranayama as a stress relieving technique will be of great help to the parents of children with autism. To evaluate the effectiveness of pranayama Objective: on stress among parents of children with autism at Sumathi occupational therapy center in Pondicherry. A single group pre and post-test Study Design: design was chosen for the research. Methods: In this study the population comprises of 40 parents of children with autism. The study center is Sumathi occupational therapy center at Pondicherry. Initial assessment was taken on the rst day by using the standardized tool of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) after attaining consent from all the subjects. Then pranayama was taught to the parents by an occupational therapist who was trained in yoga practice in the center. Posttest was taken on 32nd day by using the PSS. In the pre-test, 12 subjects (30.0%) had Results: low stress and 28(70.0%) had moderate stress. In the post test, 27(70.0%) were in low stress, 13(30.0%) were in the moderate stress, whereas no persons in severe stress. The mean pretest was 20.15 and mean post-test was 13.4 respectively. Standard deviation of the pretest was 4.42 and post-test standard deviation was 3.71. Condential interval value is 8.410. The mean difference is 16.77. The t-value is 9.60339. The p-value is< 0.0001. The result is signicant at p < .0. The study concluded that pranayama is effective in reducing stress among the Conclusion: parents of children with autism. This study proved that better caregiving and behavior management of their children at home is possible by practicing 'Pranayama', by reducing their stress level