Indian society has been broadly divided into urban, rural and tribal societies on the basis of their geographical surroundings and socio-cultural characteristics.There have been differences in the urban and the rural areas within the country with regards to the educational institutions, employment opportunities, housing, lifestyle of the people and so forth. Contemporary urbanization in India is marked by what is termed as an urban and rural divide; this aspect began to be initiated some two centuries ago. By the end of the nineteenth century, urban centers primarily became the centers of rural exploitation both in the case of natural and human resources. This pattern not only continued during the 20th century but also was made stronger; so that the positive interdependence existed amongst the rural and urban settlements. The urban areas were over populated with migration of more people in search for better education and employment opportunities and rural areas were remote and less influenced by advancements and developments as compared to urban areas.In the above backdrop , this paper made an attempt to briefly review and identify the disparities in urban and rural areas; the main areas that have been underscored in the paper are rural and urban disparities, further it also critically examines the issues such as rural and urban transformations, urban and rural income differences, changing land utilization and influence upon rural life and urbanization and expansion of large cities.