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The spatial variation in the dinoflagellate cyst assemblage from the south-eastcoast of India is presented along with a comparison of the cyst abundance from other regions of the world. Samples from 8 stations revealed the presence of 24 species from the genera <i>Protoperidinium</i>, <i>Zygabikodinium</i>, <i>Gonyaulax</i>, <i>Lingulodinium</i> and <i>Gyrodinium</i>. Cyst abundance was comparatively high at northern stations and was well correlated with the fine-grained (silt-clay dominated) sediments. In contrast, low cyst abundance was recorded in sandy sediments at southern stations. Fourteen cyst-forming dinoflagellate species previously unrecorded in planktonic samples were detected in the sediments. Thecyst abundance recorded here is low (29-331 cysts g<sup style="font-size:0.6em">-1</sup> dry sediment) as compared to sub-tropical and temperate regions, but it is on a par with tropical regions, including the west coast of India. Comparison of the cyst assemblage along the Indian coast revealed a smaller number of potentially harmful and red-tide-forming dinoflagellate species on the south-east coast (6 species) than on the west coast (10 species). Furthermore, calcareous cysts of the genus <i>Scrippsiella</i> reported from the west coast were not observed in this study although their planktonic cells have been reported