Objective: To evaluate the stability of electrolytes in serum samples due to delay in analysis in a tertiary care government hospital in India, and the maximum time delay acceptable between sample centrifugation and analysis. Materials and Methods: We estimated serum electrolytes of 400 samples with different time intervals between centrifugation and sample analysis on automated analyser. Results: Values were compared using repeated measure ANNOVA and acceptable limit change using in house QC values of 6 months. During the time interval between centrifugation and sample analysis, the samples were kept uncovered in sample cups in the laboratory. Potassium values show significant changes within 1 h (T1, p