Background: Night jasmine (Nyctanthes arbortristis or NAT) is a sacred plant (known as Parijat in Sanskrit) and commonly used traditional medicine. It was observed that the leaves of the plant are used in treating malaria. The present work has made an attempt to make ethnobotanical studies, isolation of the phytochemical constituents and mechanism of the pharmacological actions and therapeutic uses with focus on malaria. Objectives: (1) Identify the plant material for use in traditional medicine. (2)Gather laboratory evidence that the chemical constituents are comparable to standard treatment in malaria. Methods: The leaves of the plant (NAT)) were identified and the sample specimens were kept in herbarium after authentication. The phytoconstituents were identified by column chromatography. The antimalarial activities were studied. The in vitro activity of leaves of NAT was compared with chloroquine (CQ). Results: Phytochemical screening of ethanolic extract of NAT leaves revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, terpenes, flavonoids and glycosides. The leaf extract showed antimalarial action (IC50 of NAT 24.92 μg/ml and IC50 of chloroquine 21.73 μg/ml) [P<0.05] which was comparable to chloroquine. Earlier two studies showed the antimalarial action of the leaf paste having pharmacological actions in the clinical studies. It appeared likely that the iridoid glycosides present in the ethanolic extract caused the pharmacological action. Further the pharmacological actions might be like that of artemisinin in producing oxidative stress. It may have a future use in combination therapy with artemisinin Conclusions: The present study justified the ethnobotanical use of Night Jasmine in malaria. The chemical constituents attributable to pharmacological action might be due to iridoid glycosides which produced oxidative stress.