Introdcution: A variable incidence of hanging is found as second major group among the total number of autopsies done in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Calicut, Kerala state, South India. The incidences are found to be varying according to the social and economic status of the society. This retrospective study was done in a tertiary care Government Hospital to find the major predisposing factors influencing the suicide by hanging. Material and Methods: Case history were taken in detail from questionnaires to the relations of the deceased and from Police. The results were analyzed on the basis of history, postmortem findings and results of laboratory investigations. Results: The age group 16-25 was found to be the most prevalent (75%) for suicidal hanging. Among the religion, Hindu religion showed the highest (80%) number. More cases were found among the manual labourers and lower middle class people. People without children were more prone to suicide by hanging. Among the precipitating factors, mental illness was the highest factor. Fracture of hyoid bone was found during autopsy in majority of cases of complete hanging. Conclusion: Psychological upset and educational status played an important role in suicidal hanging. The highest incidence was seen among those with lower educational status. Hence, proper identification of such people and presenting them to effective counselling may reduce the incident rate.