IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras/ Chennai campus is spread over 250 hectares of lush green forest with a variety of plants/trees and animals. The campus is divided into 3 zones - Academic, Hostel and Residential.

All the academic departments, library, computer centre and the admin building are close to each other so that students can just walk across.

Commuting within the campus on bicycles is preferred and is also advocated by many. However, people can avail the institute's pollution-free bus service within the campus.

Housing
The IIT Madras being a residential institute provides accommodation to all its students in 13 independent hostels.
Each room in a hostel is provided with a cot, a table, a chair, a bookshelf, and a ceiling fan.
A washing machine is available in every hostel for use by the residents.
Every hostel is provided with telephones and internet connectivity.
Each hostel has a mess which functions for its inmates during the working semester. During the winter and summer vacations, special messes are run for students who are required to stay in the hostels for pursuing academic, sports or cultural activities.
In addition to the normal messes, there are 2 large, modern, common mega messes catering to a group of hostels.

Sports and Recreation
To ensure overall development of every student, the institute provides all the required facilities for sports and recreation.
There is a large Gymnasium, a swimming pool, a football field, a tennis court, a hockey field and a cricket stadium.
Each year students participate in the Inter-IIT sports meet.
Students can join various clubs existing on the campus.
These are Music Club, Astronomy Club, Photography club, Literary club, Astronomy club, Hiking Club, Wild-life club, etc.

Medical Facilities
The institute hospital on the campus is well equipped with a dispensary, clinical laboratory and an operation theatre to provide medical care to all the residents round the clock.
There are two ambulances to attend to any emergencies.
All the students have to register their names at the hospital to avail group medical insurance.

Shopping
The Students' Facilities Centre (SFC) makes available a variety of consumer goods and day-to-day requirements of the students like stationery, toiletries etc.
In addition, there is a tailoring shop, a hair cutting saloon, a xerox centre, a telecom centre, and a memorabilia stores selling IIT branded items.
There is also a book stall on the campus near the residential zone.

Cultural Activities
A number of literary and social activities take place on the campus through out the year. 'Saarang' is one of the biggest events on the campus every year.
In addition, music festivals and other cultural festivals are organized regularly.

Others
The campus has a Post office, a Telecom centre, two Nationalized Banks with ATM facilities and three Restaurants.
The campus has a large open air theatre (OAT) where the film club screens movies every Saturday.