Forest is an important natural resource for a healthy nation, as it contributes a lot to the overall development. Nilgiris which forms part of the biodiversity rich Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, harbours a lot of indigenous flora of excellent medicinal value and provides employment opportunities to the local community. The six tribal communities viz., Thodas, Kotas, Kurumbas, Irulas, Paniyas and Kattunayakas are present in this district and their traditional knowledge towards the use of medicinal plants in their day to day life were documented from the present study. A total of 66 medicinal plant species were explored from the present study using pre structured questionnaire and various PRA tools. Among the species documented, the maximum share was for trees with 30 species which recorded for various medicinal usages by these tribal communities and was followed by herbs (18 species), shrubs (12 species) and climbers (6 species) which were also assessed for various medicinal usages. Wild animals interference and the long distance to travel for collection, legal interference by the forest department and depletion of flora were recorded as the major problems during the collection of medicinal plants from the forest in that order. When disposing the medicinal plants, transport of the collected plants and lack of storage facilities were recorded as the major constraints.