Background. Undernutrition among rural population, especially the underprivileged tribal people is a major health problem in India. Objectives. To assess nutritional status and to compare the utility of two different anthropometric indicators of chronic energy deficiency (CED) among adult Bhumij males. Methods. A cross-sectional study of 195 male adult individuals was conducted. The body mass index (BMI) and mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) were used to evaluate CED (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2). Results: the prevalence of CED was 52.3% and of undernutrition based on MUAC < 23.0 cm was 48.2%, respectively. Both of these prevalence comes under the very high-prevalence category (>= 40%) indicating a critical situation according to World Health Organization recommendations. Among the low MUAC (= 23.0 cm) individuals (20.21%). Conclusion: This tribal population was facing severe nutritional stress. With limited resources and in the absence of skilled manpower, it may be more appropriate to use MUAC for human population surveys, particularly among tribal population of developing countries.