This research was initiated to study the air quality in the city of Kanpur, India in terms of PM10 and PM2.5 and chemical composition in terms of heavy metals and benzene-soluble organic fraction (BSOF) for PM10. Three sampling locations, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (control site), Vikas Nagar (VN) (commercial site) and Juhi Colony (JC) (residential site) were selected. Total forty-seven 24-h samples were collected for PM2.5 and PM10 during October 2002–February 2003 at these locations. The collected PM10 samples were subjected to chemical analysis for determination of heavy metals and toxic organic fraction by measuring BSOF. PM10 (45–589μgm−3), PM2.5 (25–200μgm−3), BSOF (1–170μgm−3) and heavy metals were highest at VN followed by JC and IIT. The study concluded that the overall air quality in the city of Kanpur was much inferior to other cities in India and abroad. Similar to PM10 and PM2.5, heavy metals were almost 5–10 times higher than levels in European cities. The study concluded that there was a need to address the issue of PM2.5 monitoring and control. Because regular PM2.5 monitoring may take some time, a linear model for predicting PM2.5 using routinely monitored parameters PM10 and BSOF was suggested for preliminary assessment. The model was checked for its adequacy and it was validated.