BACKGROUND Neck swellings consists of a wide spectrum of pathological entities. These swelling can occur due to a variety of aetiologies consisting of congenital, acquired inflammatory, neoplastic, or vascular origin. It is essential to have an extensive knowledge of the anatomy and contents of each cervical compartment to achieve a diagnosis. The age of presentation and clinical findings often narrows down the differential diagnosis. Ultrasonography (USG) is helpful in differentiating the nature of the lesions and differentiating solid from cystic neck lesions. Ultrasound is often used as an initial modality for pre-treatment assessment of any neck swelling. METHODS Patients with clinically palpable / non-palpable neck swellings were scanned using 7.5 - 11 MHz transducers, excluding patients with diagnosed thyroid swellings. RESULTS In total 120 cases were studied; the mean age of patients was 34 years with a male to female ratio of 1.1:1. The age wise categorisation included paediatric population (34.2 %) and adult population (65.8 %). 96 (80 %) cases presented with painless neck swelling, 76 (63.3 %) cases were non-neoplastic and 44 (36.7 %) cases were neoplastic in nature. Cervical lymphadenopathy being the most common ultrasound finding in both paediatric and adult population. Malignant lesions were most common in adult age group. Heterogeneous echotexture, rounded nodes, intranodal necrosis, loss of echogenic hila, peripheral nodal blood flow and increased pulsatility index (PI) and resistive index (RI) were important features of malignant lymph nodes. Sensitivity and specificity of USG and Doppler in differentiating neoplastic from non-neoplastic lesions were 97.7 % and 98.3 % respectively and for differentiating benign from metastatic nodes were 97.7 % and 98.3 % respectively. CONCLUSIONS Considering the study results and observations, USG is the best initial investigation for the evaluation of inflammatory, cystic and neoplastic swellings in various age groups. It is non-invasive, cost effective readily available and repeatable technique. It is relatively easier to use and does not involve radiation hazards. Colour Doppler can evaluate the vascularity of the lesions and provide details of any vascular invasion of metastatic lesions. Ultrasound can differentiate aetiology of lymph node enlargement to a significant extent. KEYWORDS High Resolution Ultrasound, Paediatric Neck Mass, Metastatic Lymph Node, Histopathology, FNAC, Tubercular Lymph Nodes, Colour Doppler, Non-Thyroidal