Purpose: Is there a difference in association of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with preterm labor as compared to term labor? Successful treatment of BV during pregnancy may reduce the incidence of preterm birth as low as 50%. It is important to work toward predicting, and diagnosing the causative factors, and finally taking steps to minimize the preterm deliveries which is of utmost priority in developing countries like India. Therefore, this study is carried out to analyze the occurrence of BV in preterm and term labor. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study of 100 laboring women in each group divided in to two groups depending on the gestational age into preterm group and term group and was carried out in a tertiary care center over 2 years (from September 2019 to September 2021) using non-probability simple random sampling technique. The women of both groups were independently segregated as those who fulfilled Amsel's criteria (≥3 out of 4) and those who did not. Results: In this study, the incidence of BV was found to be 38% in preterm group and 13% in the term group with χ² = 16.449, p = 0.00005, and odds ratio (OR) = 4.1, that is, OR >1 with the whiff test being most sensitive among four criteria of Amsel's. Conclusion: Bacterial vaginosis was noted more frequently in women with preterm labor compared to women in term labor. There was a significant impact of socio-demographic factors on occurrence. Amsel's criteria should be utilized as a low cost, easily available screening-diagnostic tool in symptomatic women.