Abstract Background and Objective: Beta lactamases are responsible for numerous outbreaks of infection in the world. The occurrence of multiple - lactamases among bacteria not only limits the therapeutic options but also poses a challenge for microbiology laboratories to identify them. This study has been taken to screen and confirm the production of ESBL by phenotypic method and to compare it with the Crome agar for its efficacy, which is essential for infection control and antimicrobial therapy. Methodology: A total of 209 isolates belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceaeobtained from different clinical samples, received in the Department of Microbiology, Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences. B.G. Nagara formed the study group. ESBL screening test was done, followed by phenotypic confirmatory test, for ESBL detection asper CLSI guidelines. This method was compared with thechromogenic media (HiCrome ESBL agar) for detecting ESBL producers. Results: On assessing the sensitivity and specificity of HimediaCrome agar with that of the phenotypic method to detect ESBL producers, Crome agar detected 87 isolates as ESBL producers. Sensitivity and specificity of Crome agar considering combination disc method as gold standard was 84.2% and 93.8% respectively. Positive and negative predictive value was 91.95% and 87.7% respectively. Conclusion: Cefotaxime/ clavulanate disc potentiation test detected maximum number of ESBL compared to Ceftazidime/Clavulunate. HiCrome ESBL agar has high sensitivity and specificity in screening for ESBLproducers and can be used routinely in the laboratory for rapid detection of ESBL producers. Keywords: ESBL; Combination Disc Method; Hicrome ESBL Agar; Enterobacteriaeceae