Chennai coast, right from the inception of Madras harbour in the year 1876, has been experiencing hostile conditions such as (i) coastal erosion, (ii) sand bar formation at the entrance to inlets, (iii) sea water ingression and (iv) change in sea bed elevation, etc. In addition, construction of a new satellite harbour, about 18 km north of Madras harbour has produced a negative impact on the delicate coastal features such as (i) Pulicat lake, (ii) Ennore shoals, etc. Construction of this satellite harbour has led to the accumulation of sand south of the south breakwater of the harbour and its accelerated growth is of concern to an inlet located 2.6 km south of the harbour. 'Coastal erosion', a perennial problem associated with north Chennai sea front for the past 100 years has been addressed in this paper. The paper discusses on a long term solution and details of the methodologies to be adopted for effective management of the coast. The solution presented in this paper is based on numerical model study considering the nearshore currents and wave induced sediment transports. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.