Background: Delay in obtaining discharge is often a reason for dissatisfaction for patients, even for those who may have had a comparatively uneventful stay in the hospital. Aim: To study the factors contributing to delay in discharge process in a teaching hospital. Materials and methods: A time motion study was conducted in a teaching hospital wherein the time taken for discharge was measured for 69 patients. The outcome variable in the study was the time needed for the discharge process in total as well as for each individual step. Mean time at each step was identified and compared between groups using t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The mean time for discharge process was 5 hours 41 minutes. The mean time between advice of discharge and physically leaving the ward varied from 6.62 hours in urology to 3.01 hours in ear, nose and throat (ENT). Only 13 patients (18.8%) were discharged within the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) prescribed time limit of 180 minutes. The maximum delay occurred during time taken for discharge summary completion. Conclusion: Very few patients were discharged within the prescribed time limit, with considerable delay in the time taken for discharge summary completion.