1572 persons above 30 years were screened for hypertension in a rural community of Varanasi district. 113 persons were diagnosed as hypertensive giving an overall prevalence of 7.19%. Prevalence rates among males and females were found 5.57% and 8.82% respectively. 203 controls, age and sex matched, were selected. Various risk factors including intake of salt, fat, socio-economic status were studied. On doing analysis by logistic regression, salt consumption and obesity were found significant predictor of hypertension.