Background: Placental malaria is a recognised complication of malaria in pregnancy and is associated with adverse outcomes for the mother and her baby especially in endemic areas. Placental malaria has been associated with low birth weight and as such contributes significantly to the high perinatal mortality in Africa. Despite the burden of this condition in this environment, there is paucity of local data and documentation on the pattern of placental malaria and its effects on pregnancy outcome. Materials and methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted between April and November 2010. Maternal blood, cord blood and placental blood samples were collected from 390 mother-baby pairs to assess for malaria parasites using thick films. Placental biopsies were also taken for histological assessment of malaria parasitisation. Semi structured questionnaire was used to collect the socio-demographic characteristics of the parturients as well as the birth weight. Descriptive analysis of the results was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA). P<0.05 was considered significant (providing 95% confidence interval).