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Abstract Introduction: Diphtheria remains a significant public health concern in many developing regions, including parts of India, where outbreaks continue to affect vulnerable populations, particularly children under five years of age. Despite the availability of preventive vaccines and effective treatment methods, a lack of awareness and proper health practices among caregivers, especially mothers, contributes to the persistence of the disease. In this context, self-instructional modules (SIMs) have emerged as a cost-effective, accessible tool for enhancing health education. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-instructional module on improving the knowledge and attitude of mothers regarding the prevention and management of diphtheria in a selected community in Banda, Madhya Pradesh, India, thereby contributing to community-level disease control and child health promotion. Objectives: 1) To assess the pretest level of knowledge regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children in selected community.2) To assess the pretest level of attitude regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children in selected community.3) To develop the self-instructional module regarding prevention and management of diphtheria in selected community.4) To administer the self-instructional module on knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children in selected community.5) To assess the post-test level of knowledge regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children in selected community.6) To assess the post-test level of attitude regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children in selected community.7) To find out the effectiveness of self-instructional module on knowledge regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children.8) To find out the effectiveness of self-instructional module on attitude regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children.9) To determine the association between the pretest level of knowledge regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children with their selected demographic variables.10) To determine the association between the pretest level of attitude regarding prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under five children with their selected demographic variables. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test and post-test approach was adopted to assess the effectiveness of a self-instructional module (SIM) on knowledge and attitude regarding the prevention and management of diphtheria among mothers of under-five children in a selected community of Banda, Madhya Pradesh, India. The study was conducted among 60 mothers selected through purposive sampling. A structured knowledge questionnaire and a Likert-scale-based attitude assessment tool were developed and validated by experts for data collection. The self-instructional module was administered after the pre-test. After a gap of 7 days, a post-test was conducted using the same tools to evaluate changes in knowledge and attitude. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional ethical committee, and informed consent was taken from all participants. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including paired t-tests and chi-square tests to assess the effectiveness of the intervention and its association with demographic variables. Results: The results of the study indicate a significant improvement in both knowledge and attitude among mothers of under-five children following the administration of the self-instructional module on the prevention and management of diphtheria. The mean knowledge score increased markedly from 7 in the pre-test to 18.95 in the post-test, with a mean difference of 11.95. The standard deviation rose from 2.91 to 3.91, and the computed t-value was 1.0139, demonstrating a substantial gain in knowledge. Similarly, attitude scores improved significantly, with a pre-test mean of 16 rising to 40.82 post-test, yielding a mean difference of 11.34. The standard deviation increased from 4.24 to 4.66, and the computed t-value was 0.0072. These findings collectively suggest that the self-instructional module was effective in enhancing knowledge and positively modifying the attitude of mothers regarding diphtheria, with statistical significance observed at the 0.05 level. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that the self-instructional module on the prevention and management of diphtheria is effective in enhancing both the knowledge and attitude of mothers of under-five children in the selected community of Banda, Madhya Pradesh, India. The post-test scores indicate a significant improvement in the participants' understanding and outlook towards diphtheria after exposure to the module. This suggests that such educational interventions can play a vital role in empowering mothers with essential health information, thereby contributing to better disease prevention and child health outcomes at the community level.