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It is a fact that development of higher education and development of a country are closely related. Any country that is developed today in the world is mainly for its quality higher education. Therefore quality assurance in higher education has been one of the major challenges in the development agenda not only in India but also all over the world. In this context IQACs of NAAC accredited colleges are functioning for sustenance and enhancement of internal quality of the higher education institutions. In Odisha only 192 colleges out of 520 UGC affiliated colleges have valid NAAC accreditation status. Therefore it is significant to explore how IQACs of autonomous colleges are functioning in comparison with non-autonomous colleges of Odisha. The exploratory survey method was adopted in the present study to identify dimensions-specific quality improvement practices adopted by IQACs and the functioning status of IQACs taking into consideration the nature of institutional autonomy as an associated factor. Total 6 autonomous and 6 non-autonomous colleges were included purposively in the sample of the study. A pilot study was conducted to identify the areas where IQACs are functioning. On the basis of pilot study a questionnaire was developed to study the functional status of IQACs. Data were collected from respondents through questionnaire and analysed by percentage and chi-square test of independence. The researcher categorised various activities of IQACs in the five dimensions. The study has revealed that IQACs of autonomous colleges are functioning better than non-autonomous colleges. The institutional autonomy was found positively associated with regularity in functioning of IQACs in different components. Future challenges of quality higher education needs to be linked with the proper functioning of IQACs which can sustain and enhance institutional quality.