AbstractNaturally occurring radionuclides of the 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K present in the lignite samples was measured by using a low-background Pb-shielded gamma spectroscopic counting assembly utilizing NaI(Tl) detector for the measurement and to evaluation the radiation hazard indices and excess life time cancer risk. The average values of specific activity concentrations in the investigated lignite samples was found to be 45.36 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 21.42 Bq kg−1 for 232Th, 40.51 Bq kg−1 for 40K and 79.11 Bq kg−1 for Raeq respectively. The average value excess life time cancer risk was found to be relatively higher than the world average. Moreover, the correlation analysis shows the strong dependence of excess lifetime cancer risk on measured dose and the radium equivalent activity.