Context: Till date many attempts have been made to find out a particular drug of choice so that the patient can be pain free after the surgery. Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of epidural butorphanol (1 mg) in comparison with epidural tramadol (50 mg) for post- operative pain relief. Settings and design: The hospital based comparative study was performed at S.V.S Medical Hospital, Mahabubnagar. Methods: In the post-operative period, when patient first complained of pain, they received either epidural tramadol 50 mg (Group-T) or butorphanol 1 mg (Group-B) diluted in 10 ml of normal saline. The parameters monitored were onset, duration and quality of analgesia, cardio respiratory effects, pulse rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, level of consciousness (sedation scores), side effects like nausea, vomiting, pruritus, respiratory depression, urinary retention. Statistical analysis: Chi square test and student’s t test were used. Results: The mean time of onset of analgesia in two groups was statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Duration of analgesia in butorphanol group was significantly lesser. Significantly more patients in Butorphanol group expressed satisfaction for analgesia compared to Tramadol group. In both groups, majority of patients expressed their analgesia as good to excellent. When compared to Tramadol group, butorphanol group had statistically significant fall in pulse rate and respiratory rate without much alteration in blood pressure. In Tramadol group, 16% of patients had nausea and 10% of patients had vomiting while only 2% of Butorphanol group had nausea and vomiting which was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Epidural Butorphanol provides a rapid, excellent but shorter duration of analgesia when compared to epidural tramadol.