BACKGROUND Hypertension with chronic kidney disease is a widely prevalent public health concern. Calcium channel blockers are a commonly used class of drugs for the treatment of hypertension. L-type calcium channel blockers like amlodipine cause a reflex sympathetic overactivity, which predisposes to increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Also, the effect of L-type CCBs on urinary protein excretion is uncertain. Cilnidipine is a novel CCB with a dual L/N-type calcium channel blocking property, thus favouring additional renal and cardiovascular protection. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects and their linearity across the timeframe of amlodipine and cilnidipine in hypertensive subjects with proteinuria on heart rate, blood pressure, lipid profile and proteinuria. MATERIALS AND METHODS After Institutional Ethical Committee approval, a prospective, randomised and open-label study was carried out on hypertensive subjects with proteinuria attending the General Medicine OPD in K. R. Hospital, Mysore. Sixty subjects satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. Heart rate, blood pressure, lipid profile (TC, LDL, HDL, TG) and Urine Protein-to-Creatinine Ratio (UPCR) were measured at baseline. Blood pressure and heart rate were monitored at weekly intervals until the end of 12 weeks. While lipid profile was reassessed at 6 weeks and 12 weeks, UPCR was reassessed at the end of 12 weeks. Descriptive statistics, independent sample 't' test, repeated measure ANOVA and Cramer's V test were used to analyse the results. RESULTS Demographic profile was well matched in both the groups. In the Amlodipine group, the heart rate was significantly higher tha n that before treatment, whereas subjects in the cilnidipine group had a significantly lower heart rate when compared to baseline (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean SBP and mean DBP values, either within each group or between the two groups. Also, the UPCR was significantly decreased in the cilnidipine group as opposed to the amlodipine group where it wa s significantly increased, thereby resulting in a significant intergroup difference (p < 0.05). However, neither of the drugs caused a significant change in the lipid parameters and the intergroup difference was also statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION Cilnidipine is thus, a better alternative in hypertensive patients with proteinuria due to its cardioprotective and renoprotective actions.