The bhoodan movement originally conceived by Acharya Vinoba Bhave, was launched in the country in the early fifties of the last century. It intended to solve the land problem in the country in a novel way by making land available through voluntary donations for distribution to the landless and the land poor. The movement created sensation in the country quite for some years by making mass appeal and giving rise to the hope of solving the age-old land problem by producing miraculous results in certain parts of the country at least in the initial years of its launch. Again gramdan, an offshoot of bhoodan programme gave a new spurt to the waning bhoodan movement in the sixties and showed promising signs of success in certain pockets of the country especially in the district of Koraput of Odisha. However, the movement could not sustain its momentum in the long run and became a neglected activity towards the seventies, thus faded from the public concern. This article intends to examine the origin of the bhoodan programme and its progress during its heyday in the state of Odisha.