Purpose: To determine the clinical characteristics and outcome of bacterial meningitis in adult patients using CT, MRI and CSF culture. Methods: Patients admitted to the university hospital with clinical diagnosis of meningitis were included in the present study. All patients were subjected to clinical examination as well as CT, MRI scanning and CSF-bacteriological culture. Results: The age distribution of the patients shows that there is high frequency of symptoms found in the age group between ages 40 - 45. CSF in the present study included WBS, RBC, glucose and protein, which is associated with the adverse outcome. Meningitis can be confirmed by many methods, in the present study three different methods were used, which included CT scan, MRI and CSF analysis and bacterial culture. In CT scan, among the predictors of meningitis, persons with TB (P = 0.037), patients with HIV (P = 0.036) and stroke (P = 0.036) showed significant association. Whereas MRI findings were significantly associated with TB meningitis (P = 0.015). Meningitis was prevalent in the age group of <45. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of several modalities for diagnosing and predicting the outcome of meningitis in adults.