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The present study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement among college students in Mayurbhanj District, Odisha. The study also examined differences in academic achievement with respect to gender, stream, and locality. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The sample comprised 100 undergraduate students selected through the simple random sampling technique from five degree colleges in Mayurbhanj District. Data were collected using the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII-MM) developed by Mangal and Mangal, while academic achievement was measured through students' university examination scores obtained from official college records. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (Student's t-test and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient). The findings revealed that the majority of the students possessed an average level of emotional intelligence. A significant difference in academic achievement was observed between boys and girls, with girls outperforming boys. Similarly, Science students demonstrated significantly higher academic achievement than Arts students. However, no significant difference was found between rural and urban students with respect to academic achievement. Furthermore, the study established a significant positive correlation (r = 0.322, p < 0.05) between emotional intelligence and academic achievement, indicating that students with higher emotional intelligence tend to achieve better academic performance. The study concludes that emotional intelligence plays a vital role in enhancing students' academic achievement. Therefore, educational institutions should promote emotional intelligence through counselling services, life skills education, and socio-emotional learning programmes to foster students' academic success and holistic development.