This paper critically describes the place of Health Education in National Health Programmes. Health Education is one of the recognised ways of health promotion in the primary prevention of diseases in the community. Probably it may be required even at secondary and tertiary prevention levels. This implies that health education has to be directed towards the community for accepting the health services provided and participate in all activities which promote their own health. Health education is part of any health programme and its component and implementation depend on the nature and organisation of the health programme itself. Integrated programmes are more acceptable to the community and economically feasible. Health education of the community under the integrated health services has to have new dynamics and priority over the conventional approach hitherto adopted in vertical programmes. Health education in all national health programmes has to be made into a comprehensive one, rather than planning individually for each programme. Community health education should go along with the "health education" of the health workers. The efforts to do former alone without improving the latter, has not been able to give good dividends.