The variable energy microtron at Mangalore University has been used to study the effect of radiation on different materials and biological systems. While studying the effects of radiation, it is essential to have complete knowledge of absorbed dose. In the present study the dose due to 8 MeV electron beam from microtron accelerator has been calculated using chemical dosimeters. The uniformity of dose distribution at various points of the irradiation area also has been calibrated. From the dosimetry studies it is observed that there is a linear relation between dose and electron numbers over a wide range of absorbed doses. It is evaluated that the electron counts of about 1.15 9 10 14 corresponds to an absorbed dose of 100 Gy and a field size of about 4 9 4 cm is available at 30 cm distance from the beam exit window over which the dose distribution is uniform.