Aim: study of short tear film breakup time-type of dry eye in India Methods: This cross-sectional study was done the Department of Ophthalmology, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar, India for 1 year. 250 patients were selected using systematic random sampling for a comprehensive dry eye work‑up from a pool of 2500 consecutive new patients aged 18 years or more attending the corneal clinic on 3 days of the week. Results: Of the 250 patients who underwent dry eye evaluation, there were 50 patients in the short TBUT group, 50 patients in the ATD group, 100 patients in the group with >5 but <10 s TBUT, and 50 patients in the normal group. The total and subscale scores of the OSDI questionnaire were similar between the short TBUT and ATD groups (P > 0.05). The number of patients with an OSDI score of ≥13 was similar (P = 0.55) between the short TBUT group (38%) and the ATD group (38%) and was nearly twice (P = 0.003) that of the patients in the group with >5 but <10 s TBUT ( 20%). The difference in the proportion of patients with severe symptom scores between the ATD and short TBUT groups was not significant (P = 0.09), but it was significant (P = 0.0009) between the ATD group and the group with >5 s but <10 s TBUT.Overall, there was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) in TBUT, Schirmer I test and Lissamine green staining score between the various groups. The difference in frequency was significant between the short TBUT group, ATD group (P < 0.0001) and the normal group (P < 0.0001) but not with the group with >5 but <10 s TBUT (P = 0.11). Conclusion: We have described a typical group of patients with specific characteristics that distinguish them from other types of dry eye disease. This study also emphasizes the importance of measuring TBUT, particularly in patients with symptoms of eye fatigue whose complaints may not primarily be due to anomalies of accommodation and/or convergence but due to an unstable tear film.