BACKGROUND It has been observed that menstrual characteristics are generally influenced by lifestyle, socio-cultural and biological factors. OBJECTIVE The present study examines: (a) variation in menstrual characteristics between rural and urban adolescents; and (b) whether these characteristics can be predicted from various socio-economic variables related to place of residence. METHODS The sample of the present study constituted 715 adolescent girls from rural (325) and urban (390) areas of West Bengal, a State of India. These girls belong to a Bengali-speaking Hindu ethnic group. Data on socio-economic variables and menstrual characteristics were collected using pretested questionnaires. RESULTS Rural and urban adolescents differed significantly (p < or = 0.05) with respect to age at menarche, skipped and irregular cycles, premenstrual syndrome, duration of menstrual discharge, mean number of days of peak discharge and problems related to menstrual discharge. Place of residence was found to be a significant predictor of age at menarche (beta = 0.27, p < 0.01). Significant association was observed between some of the socio-economic variables and various menstrual characteristics among the study participants. CONCLUSIONS Menstrual characteristics differ significantly between rural and urban adolescents. Moreover, various socio-economic variables pertaining to place of residence significantly affect the menstrual characteristics among adolescents.