Background and Aim: Prevalence of caries is associated with variables such as age, gender, drinking water, sweet consumption, brushing frequency, mode of teeth cleaning and level of oral cleanliness. The objective of this study is to know the prevalence of dental caries in school children of of 6–12 years of age in Shirur village of Udupi district and the association of caries with the identified risk factors. Materials & Methods: A survey was conducted at Shirur village to assess the prevalence of dental caries and association with identified risk factors. Caries was recorded according to WHO criteria 1997. Oral hygiene status was assessed according to OHI–S (Greene and Vermillion 1964) Results: In the deciduous dentition, 8 year old shows a highest prevalence and the lowest prevalence in the 12 year age group. The dmf scores declined progressively as age increased. In the permanent dentition, 12 year old children showed a highest prevalence and the lowest prevalence in the 6 year age group. DMF scores increased progressively with age. Conclusion: The above study yields valuable data on the caries prevalence and severity in the above mentioned population. This will enable public health authorities to plan preventive and curative interventions for this segment of the population.