Tumor budding is the histological phenomenon seen as a detached, discohesive small cluster of cells in the invasive tumor front. Tumor buds 
may provide a histological means for the assessment of epithelial-mesenchymal interaction and facilitate early prediction of prognosis.The present study aims to assess the prognostic significance of the tumor budding in oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC). Detailed Histopathological scoring of the oral squamous cell carcinoma tissue and lymph nodes including the evaluation of tumor budding was performed by two individual observers retrospectively. The association between various clinicopathological parameters and the budding index was analyzed using chi-square test and fisher’s exact tests. Tumor budding was demonstrated in the invasive tumor front of all OSCC cases. High-intensity tumor budding was seen in stage 4 cancers with tumor size of > 4cms. Histologically, they were related to deep and extensive tumors, having an invasive front with infiltrative cells in groups or cords, dense stromal type in association with mild inflammation invariably. All of the cases with lymph node metastases were tumor budding positive. Thus this study emphasizes the importance of tumor budding evaluation in regular pathology practice in the management of OSCC cases.