OBJECTIVES: To review the patient characteristics and treatment methods of oral cancer patients at a tertiary hospital in India. METHODS: This study was a retrospective review of electronic medical records from a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, India. Patients ≥18 years of age hospitalized for oral cancer treatment between Jan 2014 and May 2015 were included in the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze and compare differences between patients. RESULTS:  A total of 132 patients met the study criteria. Of these, 108 patients were in the age group of 18 to 64 years. The mean age for all the oral cancer patients was 51.81+12.20 years. The mean age was lowest for patients with no insurance (NI) while highest for patients with CGHS (CGHS=66.60+7.16 years, PI=61+9.89 years, RGJAY=51.39+12.43 years, NI=49.40+9.53 years). The majority of the patients (n=106, 80.3%) underwent a surgical procedure during their stay. The majority of the patients were subscribed to RGJAY payer scheme (RGJAY=105, 79.5%; NI=20, 15.2%; CGHS=5, 3.8%; PI=2, 1.5%). Abnormal growth was the most common reason for admission into the hospital (n=80, 60.6%). 21 (15.9%) patients with hypertension and 18 (13.6%) patients with diabetes were reported as major comorbidities during hospitalization. The majority of the patients had stage 3 or 4 oral cancer (99, 75.0%), while 30 (22.7%) patients had stage 1 or 2 oral cancer and 3 (2.3%) patients had stage 0 oral cancer. Of the total 106 patients that had surgery, majority of them (n=50) underwent a modified radical neck dissection (MRND) or a combined mandibulectomy and neck dissection operation (n=30). CONCLUSIONS:  Majority of the oral cancer patients were diagnosed during the advanced stages of the disease and were subscribed to RGJAY scheme. The common reason for hospital admission was abnormal growth and the common procedure patients underwent was MRND.