The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of coccidiosis in broiler chickens in district Muzaffargarh-Punjab-Pakistan. Out of 500 gut samples examined, during the months of July 2009 to June 2010, the overall prevalence found was 65%. Two hundred fecal droppings from different broiler farms were also investigated during the same period. The prevalence of coccidial infection among adult broiler chickens was 30.18% and among young broiler chickens was 65.95%. Four species of Eimeria; Eimeria tenella (40.92%), Eimeria maxima (31.38%), Eimeria mitis (18.15%) and Eimeria necatrix (9.53%) were recorded. The prevalence of Eimeria infections was highest in the month of September (73.68%), while lowest during April (47.83%). The prevalence of coccidiosis was higher at the farms where the management practices were not satisfactory particularly keeping the litter dry. A strong correlation was found between the prevalence of coccidiosis and age of the chickens.

Key words: Broiler chickens, Coccidiosis, Eimeria spp, Prevalence