Background: The hemodynamic stress response to intubation needs attenuation in hypertensive individuals. The anesthesiologists have tried various methods and drugs for this purpose. We compared the effectiveness of oral pregabalin and intravenous lignocaine to attenuate the pressor response in patients with stage-1 hypertension in this prospective, randomized double blinded study. Methodology: Sixty adult patients with diagnosed hypertension, undergoing various elective surgical procedures under general anesthesia, were randomly divided into two groups of 30 each. Group P patients received a single oral dose of pregabalin 150 mg one hour before surgery. Group L patients received lignocaine 1.5 mg/kg IV before intubation. The hemodynamic changes including baseline heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were recorded in both groups. Results: The demographic data, baseline HR and BP, time taken for intubation were similar in both groups. The pregabalin group showed lower post intubation HRs than lignocaine group (92.07 +/- 10.88 vs. 98.03 +/- 10.53 beats/min respectively). The mean systolic and diastolic BPs were lower in Group P than in Group L, e.g. 102.33 +/- 13.79 mmHg vs. 120.97 +/- 20.55 mmHg and 62.23 +/- 9.81 mmHg vs. 79.23 +/- 16.34 mmHg respectively. The recovery parameters were similar. Conclusion: Oral pregabalin 150 mg is more effective to minimize pressure response to intubation in patients with stage-1 hypertension when compared to lignocaine 1.5 mg/kg IV.