Awareness and attitude of livestock owners regarding Panchayati Raj system of democratic decentralisation was studied.The study was conducted in two block panchayats of Kerala state in India. Case-control design of survey research was followed. Self Help Group (SHG) members served as case and non-members, control.The background characteristics such as socio- economic and socio- psychological factors were almost uniform in both the groups. Generally, the awareness regarding Panchayati Raj and attitude towards it were all less than satisfactory. Even so, SHG members and non-members differed significantly on all accounts i.e., SHG-members had significantly higher level of awareness and a more favourable attitude towards the system.Since democratic decentralisation is a new concept, the book may serve as a reference material in the hands of students and researchers in the field of social sciences.