The Marmas are the second largest ethnic minority in Bangladesh. Most Marmas live in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari. Some Marmas, however, live in the coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali. 

According to the 1991 census, the number of Marmas in Bangladesh was 1,57,301. Marmas belong to the Mongoloid race. They are relatively short and have prominent cheekbones. They have a yellow complexion, black hair, small eyes and snub noses.

They speak an Arakansese dialect and their language is written in Burmese characters. The Marmas' language belongs to the Burma-Arakan group within the broad classification of Tibet-Burma languages. In recent times, Marmas in urban areas and nearby settlements have learnt to speak the local dialect of Chittagong.

Marmas are divided into several clans. Each clan is named after the place from where it migrated. The material culture of the Marmas includes many basic tools and weapons of primitive societies. The houses of the Marma people are made of bamboo, wild grass and straw. These are built on elevated bamboo or wooden platforms (machang). Every room is a bedroom cum store. The space underneath the machang is used for various purposes such as keeping livestock and storing fuel wood. Some of their houses, however, are made of mud and built without a machang.

Rice and boiled vegetables are major food items of the Marma people. Nappi, a paste made of dried fish, is a favourite food item. They enjoy rice beer and smoke indigenous cigars.

Marma men and women typically wear thami and angi. However, the angi used by men is more a waistcoat than a blouse. Marmas make their own clothes using traditional weaving technology, although many Marmas now purchase Bangali dresses from the market. Kitchen utensils in a Marma family are mostly earthen or made of bamboo and wood.

The nuclear family is predominant in the Marma community. Although the husband is the head of the household, the wife also has a significant role in the family. Agriculture is the main occupation of the Marmas and Jhum cultivation is their primary agricultural pursuit. They also supplement their food requirement by gathering tree leaves, roots, and tubers from the hill forests.

Weaving is a very common activity of the Marma women. Recently they have become involved in trade and commerce. What they produce is sold mostly through middlemen.

Marmas believe that their birth, death and all activities in life take place under the influence of a supernatural power, which they try to satisfy through their rites and rituals. They celebrate Buddhist religious festivals and also perform various forms of ritual worship to placate different gods. Dreams have a very strong influence in decision making in their everyday life.

Marriage is a very important part of the social life of Marmas. Cross-cousin marriage and monogamy are predominant features of this society. Polygamy is also allowed. Child marriage is practically forbidden. Premarital love is common.

The traditional political administrative system in the Marma community is a three-tier one. Village level administration is headed by a Karbari and mouza level administration by a headman, while the circle level is headed by the Circle Chief (Raja). The main responsibility of these leaders is the collection of Jhum tax. In addition, each is entrusted with various socio-cultural responsibilities including arbitration of disputes, pronouncing judgment as well as maintaining law and order at their respective levels of administration.