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A 50 patients of cirrhosis were enrolled for the study. Overall incidence of SBP in our study population was 54%. The mean age of presentation in our study was 44.11years.14 patients were diagnosed to have SBP or one of its variants with a prevalence of 34.14%. Only ascitic fluid routine microscopy and inoculation of ascitic fluid into blood culture bottle was found to be sufficient to diagnose SBP in most cases. Abdominal pain, tenderness and fever were strong indicators of ascitic fluid infection. Majority of patients with SBP were Culture negative neutrocytic ascites (CNNA) (63%) with isolated PMN count of >250 cells/mm3. Culture positivity was seen in 37% of patients of SBP out of which 30% were CNNAand 7% were Mono-microbial non-neutrocytic bacterascites (MNBA). Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were the most commonly isolated organisms. Peripheral leukocytosis was found to be a strong indicator for presence of ascitic fluid infection. Classical symptoms and signs were absent in these patients and hence, definitive diagnosis could only be made by ascitic fluid analysis and culture. Every patient of cirrhosis should be screened for SBP as delayed diagnosis can lead to fatal outcome. Routine antibiotic coverage should be avoided for fear of resistance.