Introduction: The global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high rate of hospitalisation and mortality in severe cases. This emphasizes the requirement of parameters that can predict the progression of the severity of the disease among COVID-19 infected patients. Red cells distribution width (RDW) is a cheap and easily available parameter included in Complete Haemogram and is associated with an increased risk of mortality with various diseases. Objective: The present study aimed to find out if there is any correlation between RDW and the severity of COVID-19 infection. Methods: The study was conducted on 111 admitted patients of COVID 19 diagnosed by RT-PCR, among those who were 18 years or older and not requiring treatment for anaemia. Eighty-seven of the patients were having moderate and 24 severe diseases. Analysis of the EDTA blood samples was done by Sysmex XT-4000i automated haematology analyser. RDW-CV and RDW-SD along with haemoglobin and haematocrit values were recorded. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad QuickCalcs. Results: Mean value for haemoglobin, haematocrit, RDW-SD and RDW-CV were 11.48 __ampersandsignplusmn; 2.22 g/dl, 35.18 __ampersandsignplusmn; 6.07 %, 47.26 __ampersandsignplusmn; 6.50 fl and 15.69 __ampersandsignplusmn; 2.12% respectively. Values for haemoglobin, RDW-CV and RDW-SD were statistically significant when compared between moderate and severe COVID-19 infected patients. Conclusion: Patients with raised RDW values are at a significantly higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease which can be fatal.