Pain after inguinal hernia repair is still a challenging task especially in theambulatory setting. TAP block has been suggested as an adequate analgesicoption. In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, our aim was tocompare the analgesic efficacy of the of transversus abdominis plane (TAP)block with a placebo block in patients undergoing unilateral inguinal herniarepair.Methods: Following the institutional review board approval, and informedpatient consents, fifty adult (ASA) I–IV patients aged 18–80 were enrolled inthis study. Under Ultrasound guidance, 20 ml of ropivacaine 0.5% (Group A)or normal saline (group B) were injected in the TAP block. General anesthesiawas used for all patients. Serum IL6 levels were measured intraoperative andpostoperative. The verbal analog scale (VAS) was recorded immediatelypostoperative; 1 hour after; the average VAS during the total PACU time; 24hours postoperative; one month postoperative. The amount of narcotics used(in mg oral-morphine equivalent) in the PACU and in the first 24 hourspostoperative as well as anti-emetic drugs were recorded.Results: Patients in (group A) had significantly lower pain scores than (groupB) at all times except the immediate postoperative VAS scores, which werecomparable for the two groups. The amount of narcotics used for group A wasalso significantly lower in the PACU as well as for the first postoperative 24hours with P value<0.05. The serum rise of IL-6 level was lower in group Athan group B (however with no statistical significance)Conclusion: TAP block provided effective analgesia, reducing total 24-hourpostoperative analgesic consumption and opioid requirement in patientsundergoing unilateral inguinal hernia repair.