Desertification is a process of land degradation in arid, semi- arid and dry sub-humid regions due to climatic uncertainties and improper land management activities. The major desertification processes operating in arid and semi arid regions of India are soil erosion, vegetal degradation, salinization/alkalinisation, water logging, loss of soil fertility and uncontrolled mining. Identification of major biophysical indicators of desertification is necessary for periodical monitoring and preparation of strong combating plan. To investigate the biophysical indicators which are most effective in assessing the level of desertification vulnerability, a total of 17 biophysical indicators were studied in 13 sites of South India representing two different agro-ecological regions (AESR 8.3&3). Principal Component Analysis was employed to identify the effective indicators based on maximum loadings and Eigen value. Linear discriminant analysis was used to identify the most important and reliable indicators for assessing degree of desertification processes. The results showed that pH and organic carbon are the most reliable indicators for assessing the degree of desertification processes in South India.