This paper contests the view that the joint family system has not only persisted but also got further strengthened in the face of urbanisation and industrialisation in India. Based on the census and survey data, it argues that with the spread of urbanisation, education and the onset of demographic transition and increasing occupational differentiation extensive changes have occurred in the household structure and conventional family system in India. The nuclear family has steadily surfaced as the dominant form of residential unit, especially in urban areas.