Simple and precise UV spectrophotometric methods by first order derivative and area under curve [AUC] - have been developed and validated for the estimation of ornidazole in bulk and its tablet formulation. The standard and sample solutions of ornidazole were prepared in 0. 1 N hydrochloric acid. Ornidazole was estimated at 261 nm for the first order derivative UV-spectrophotometric me thod (A), while in area under curve (AUC) method (B ) the zero order spectrum of ornidazole was measured in betwee n 272 nm to 282 nm. Beer’s law was obeyed in the concentration range of 1 to 10 μ g / ml with coefficient of correlation value 0.9996 for first order derivative method. Similarly in AUC method, Beer’s law was obeyed in t he concentration range of 1 to 10 μ g / ml with coefficient of correlation value 0.9997. These methods were tested and validated for various parameters according to ICH guidelines. The precision expressed as relative sta ndard deviation were of 1.276 % and 0.1493 % for th e above two methods respectively. The proposed methods were suc cessfully applied for the determination of ornidazo le in pharmaceutical formulation. Results of the analysis were validated statistically and were found to be satisfactory. The proposed methods are simple, easy to apply, low -cost and require relatively inexpensive instrument s.