Background; Breast cancer is the commonest form of cancer that is seen in Nigerian women. A one year prospective study on the classification of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of palpable breast lumps with Diff Quik as well as Haematoxylin and eosin stains using the United Kingdom National Health Service Breast Screening Programme (UKNHSBSP) was carried out. The aim of this study is to classify palpable breast lesions cytologically and to compare these cytological reports with histological reports of same lesions. It also aims at determining the sensitivity of fine needle aspiration in diagnosing palpable breast lesions. Method: A one year prospective study of all patients that presented with palpable breast lumps was done. Fine needle aspiration for cytology was carried out by the primary investigator on these lumps and the aspirates were smeared on slides. Some of the slides were air-dried and stained with Diff-Quik and the remaining slides were immediately fixed in 95% alcohol and sent to the laboratory for staining with haematoxylin and eosin. The two results were classified cytologically using the UKNHSBSP and then 1 compared. The cytological diagnoses were also compared to histological results derived from biopsies or mastectomy specimens of same lesions. The cytological grading of the malignant breast smears using the Robinson’s cytological grading system was compared with the Nottingham’s grading of the malignant lesions diagnosed histologically.