Tetanus is a serious bacterial disease that leads to stiffness of your jaw muscles and other muscles. It can cause severe muscle spasms, make breathing difficult and, ultimately, threaten your life. A cut, puncture wound, laceration or other wound can lead to a tetanus infection and toxin production in someone without immunity. Spores of the tetanus bacteria, Clostridium tetani, usually are found in the soil but can occur virtually anywhere. If deposited in a wound, the bacteria can produce a toxin that interferes with the nerves controlling your muscles. Treatment is available, but the process is lengthy and not uniformly effective. Tetanus may be fatal despite treatment. The disease is rare in the Western world and developed countries due to proper vaccination programmes and a very small number of those result in death. However, in our setup he number of cases and resulting deaths is far higher. The best defense against tetanus is prevention by regular vaccination and making people aware of this potentially lethal but preventable disease. A review is presented here to highlight the problem.