To assess the learning needs and nursing care needs perceived by the postnatal women and their nurses and find association with the selected variables. A descriptive survey was conducted in eight selected hospitals of Udupi District, Karnataka. Three hundred postnatal women, 1-7 days postpartum and one hundred and thirty nurses working in the maternity areas were surveyed using the demographic proforma, rating scales for the assessment of learning needs and nursing care needs, which were developed separately for the postnatal women and the nurses. Perineal care or surgical wound care’, ‘Management of minor ailments after delivery’ and ‘Infant care needs’ were the areas of highest priority for  postnatal women  whereas the nurses expressed ‘Management of minor ailments after delivery’ as the least priority area. The nurses gave high priority to areas of ‘Perineal care or surgical wound care’,‘Psychological changes’ and ‘Infant care needs’. There was a significant difference (p<0.01) between the responses given by the two groups for the learning needs of postnatal women and a significant association between learning needs and age of the postnatal women (p=0.029).The postnatal care should be provided by the nurses based on the needs of the clients.