Background: Basic Life Support (BLS) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) are essential emergency interventions that can significantly improve survival outcomes following sudden cardiac arrest. Assessing knowledge and attitude among medical students is crucial to identify training needs and promote early competence in life-saving skills. Hence, this study was done to assess the knowledge and attitude toward BLS and CPR among first-year medical students.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 first-year MBBS students using a structured, pre-validated questionnaire comprising 20 knowledge-based items and 6 attitude-based Likert-scale items. Knowledge scores were categorized as poor (0–5), average (6–10), good (11–15), and excellent (16–20). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results: Awareness of BLS was high (79.2%), but specific knowledge regarding CPR sequence and terminology (e.g., CPCR) was limited. While 68.7% of students scored in the good-to-excellent knowledge range, 31.3% had poor-to-average scores. Attitudes were strongly positive—over 70% were willing to undergo training, and 81.3% were eager to teach BLS to others. However, only 29.2% felt their current knowledge was sufficient, and 55.2% expressed confidence in performing CPR.

Conclusion: First-year medical students demonstrate strong motivation and positive attitudes toward BLS, but show critical gaps in knowledge. Early, structured, and hands-on BLS training should be incorporated into the undergraduate curriculum to improve competence and emergency preparedness.