Background : Dental caries is on rising trend in India, and is considered as a public health problem. Caries is a multifactorial disease that results in loss of tooth structure but it is largely preventable. It is a result of man’s progress towards civilization.It is a chronic disease especially in adolescents. The present study was conducted to assess the burden of caries in 12 to 15 year old school going children. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional study was was carried out in high schools in various villages of district Modinagar. Students aged 12 to 15 year were checked for presence of caries and asked about the oral hygiene habits and socio-demographic characteristics with the help of pre designed questionnaire. Results: total of 700 students were examined and overall prevalance of dental caries were found to be 68%. It was found that prevelance of dental caries was higher in students who had lower per capita monthly income. Caries was signficantly lower among students who brushed their teeth twice a day compared to those who brushed only once. Male students had higher caries prevelance than females. Conclusion: Dental caries is highly prevalent among children in Modinagar. This calls for awareness about proper oral hygiene practices, dietary counselling, regular screening of children and appropriate treatment of caries lesion at incipient stage so as to reduce pain and the premature loss of tooth.