A two-port multiple input multiple output (MIMO) E-shaped multiband antenna for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) and X-band applications is presented in this paper. A partial defected ground structure (DGS) is placed on a substrate with a microstrip feedline technique to excite an E-shaped structure. The proposed antenna design results in a resonance within the WLAN range (5.15–5.35) GHz, (5.725–5.875) GHz. Additional three frequencies are resonated by introducing a pi-shaped defected structure in the ground for INSAT (4.4–4.8 GHz) and X-band (8–12) GHz applications. Further, introducing a T-shaped strip in the middle arm of E-shaped patch creates a resonant frequency of 2.48 GHz covering the WLAN range (2.4–2.48) GHz. The diverse parameter like reflection coefficient, isolation, surface current distributions, radiation patterns, envelope correlation coefficient and diversity gain are analyzed for the various MIMO array configurations. The substrate used is a low-cost FR4 of 0.8 mm thickness and dielectric constant of 4.4. © 2021, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.