Abstract <p>Microplastics (MPs) are one of the emerging contaminants nowadays in water, air, and soil. MPs have become an ecological threat to the freshwater ecosystem. The present study was conducted to determine the MP abundance in the surface and sediment samples collected from Sulur Lake from 10 different sites. Sulur is one of the significant urban areas in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India. The Sulur Lake is one of the most extensive perennial lakes and is the primary urban water source of the Sulur. The MP samples were collected from surface water and the sediments (<i>n</i> = 10) using the Van Veen grab sampling method. The samples were digested and isolated using the wet peroxide oxidation method followed by density separation. MPs were sorted visually and differentiated according to size, shape, colour, and polymer type. Among the 10 sites, the most abundant MPs were found in sediment samples (average: 84.6 ± 5.01 items/kg) than in surface water (average: 73.2 ± 0.41 items/5 L). The dominant colour, shape, and polymer found in the water samples were transparent and white; fibre; and HDPE, respectively in both sediments as well as surface waters. The major size of MPs found from samples falls in the two major categories of 0.5–1 mm size (349 items) in surface samples and 2–5 mm size (209 items) in sediments. The presence of MPs in Sulur Lake indicates that lakes are contaminated. This study provides insight into the types and abundance of MPs in Sulur Lake, displaying similar MP contamination that can be observed in waterbodies worldwide. Lakes when exposed to MPs, aquatic organisms like fish can also in turn be exposed to MPs. Fishes from Sulur Lake are one of the primary food sources for the local population of Coimbatore, which in turn can cause MP exposure to humans through fish consumption. This research is a baseline study for the proposed site of Sulur Lake for MP contamination, and further research on the MP exposure in the fish from Sulur Lake is necessary.</p>