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Background and Objective: Caregivers assume roles out of necessity and their services often go unrecognized. Caregivers of the geriatric population are diminishing relative to the increasing need. This was carried out to explore the problems encountered by caregivers of the geriatric population. Materials and Methods: Qualitative research methods such as key informant interviews (KII) (n = 25) and pile sorting exercises (n = 15) were undertaken among a purposively selected sample of caregivers in the field practice area of the Urban Health Training Centre, Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital. Manual content analysis was carried out with the transcripts from KII. The data obtained from the pile sorting exercises were analyzed using Anthropac 4.98.1/X software. Results: The problems faced by caregivers were sorted into 4 groups (1) ignorance regarding the needs of elderly, (2) medical problems encountered by caregivers owing to continuous caregiving, (3) family problems and (4) social problems. Fear and ignorance in caregivers were due to decreased medical awareness, poor financial status and lack of experience. Caregivers experienced depression, stress and isolation with caregiving. The caregivers were worried about the increased risk of health problems having sick elderly at home which led to family problems. The unpredictable health-care needs of the elderly reduced their social relations. Conclusion: Most of the problems encountered by caregivers were due to the lack of awareness of the conditions and special needs of the elderly population. Frequent health check-ups for caregivers are essential. Training programs and community-based caregiving groups will make caregivers' confident, decrease their problems and improve their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]