Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Indian women. Breast self‑examination (BSE) remains a feasible screening method in resource‑restricted settings. Our aim is to assess the awareness of breast cancer and the practice of BSE among women in a rural area of Jalgaon.

Methods: A cross‑sectional survey‑based study in rural Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, India with 350 adult women who were interviewed using the Breast Cancer Awareness Questionnaire translated in the regional language Marathi.

Results: Less than fourteen in hundred women knew that lump in the breast is a symptom of breast cancer. 284 (81.2%) were unable to state even any single symptom of breast cancer and 306 (87.7%) unable to state even one risk factor of breast cancer. Majority 297 (85.1%) of the women in the study had never heard of BSE and its practice. None of the women participated in the cross-sectional study performed monthly BSE. Only 34 (9.7%) of the women actually performed BSE within the last 6 months period. Women with higher qualification and those who reported a history of a lump in the breast in self or family were significantly more likely to state at least one of the symptoms of breast cancer and were more likely to practice BSE.

Conclusion: The rural women in this cross-sectional study had poor awareness regarding breast cancer and poor practice of BSE.