<p>To find the association of tumor budding(Tb), tumor associated eosinophilia(TATE) and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte(TILs) with cervical lymph node metastasis(LNM) in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue(SCC tongue). A case-control study was conducted on patients presenting with a diagnosis of SCC tongue of any stage, who underwent curative intent surgery with or without appropriate adjuvant treatment from August 2018 till April 2024 were included. Patients who had received radiotherapy/chemotherapy in the past or those with recurrent tumors were also included. Patients with histology other than conventional squamous cell carcinoma or who did not undergo elective or therapeutic neck dissection were excluded. Demographic details of the patients and the absence or presence of cervical lymph node metastasis were recorded from their histopathological report, and the patients were divided into two groups. Group A comprised of patients who did not have any positive cervical lymph node in their histopathological report, while those who had the same were entered into Group B. Tumor budding(Tb), tumor associated eosinophilia(TATE) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs) were recorded by re-evaluation of the histopathological slides, and thereafter their association with cervical lymph node metastasis was investigated.A total of 91 patients of SCC tongue who were operated from August 2018 till April 2024 were identified. Tb was found to have a strong positive correlation with LNM(p &lt; 0.001). TATE had a weak negative correlation(p = 0.278) while TILs had a strong negative correlation with LNM(&gt;p = 0.020). Cases of SCC tongue with high-intensity tumor budding are at greater risk of having cervical lymph node metastasis, while those with increased tumor infiltrating lymphocyte levels are at lower risk. Tumor associated tissue eosinophilia is less likely to predict lymph node metastasis.</p>