The family Asteraceae occupies fifth position among top ten dominant families of flowering plants in the state of Orissa. It is represented by 103 plant species belonging to 62 genera in the state. Ethno- pharmacological uses of 29 plants species of Asteraceae recorded from

diverse ethnic groups in different geographical regions of Orissa are presented in this communication. The data included in the paper was collected during ethno-botanical survey trips conducted by Survey of Medicinal Plants Unit, Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Bhadrak from 1981 – 2006. Information obtained from the study area on ethno-pharmacological uses reveal that some species of asteraceae have multiple medicinal uses and some of the uses are unique in nature that have not been reported earlier. First hand data recorded from the field and information collected from published literature have been presented in this communication. It has been suggested that scientific evaluation may be done of plants species claimed therapeutically useful by the inhabitants of the study area, so as to find out some useful indicators. It has also been emphasized that studies may also be taken among under-explored ethnic groups like Munda, Mankadia, Paroja and primitive tribes like Bondo, Paudi bhuinya and other bio-diversity rich areas like mangrove forests in the state.