The paper gives in brief, the history of exploration for oil in the off-shore areas of India. 'nie first off-shore surveys were commenced in early January, 1963. This was a logical step following discovery of oil in the Cambay basin of Gujarat in western India, To start with, the exploration in the off-shore regions was confined to the northern part of the Gulf of Cambay which adjoins the land areas of the Cambay basin. This work was commenced by a group of Indian geophysicists and technicians and was entirely conducted by them. At a later stage, to have a quick appraisal of the full Off-shore regions of India, an off-shore seismic crew with ship and equipment was hired from U. S. S. R. This crew covered the southern part of the Gulf of Cambay and northern part of the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Cutch, areas off the coast of Kerala, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Strait, Coromandel Coast, shelf areas adjoining the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. The work in the areas off Kerala, in Gulf of Mannar, off coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal were covered by broad reconnaissance proiles only. The surveys indicated presence of a number of interesting structures. Some of them have been delineated in detail Drilling of an exploratory well on one of the structures has been taken up.