Changing climatic conditions in coastal belt are affecting the relationship between fishing communities and the marine resources they depend on. Understanding climate stressors can provide policy makers with the knowledge to develop adaptive management strategies that will improve the resiliency of coastal fishing communities. In this context, a study was undertaken during 2018 with a key objective of assessing the bio-physical and socioeconomic vulnerability due to climate change at household level. Thoothukudi, a coastal district of Tamil Nadu with 6 coastal taluks was selectedand a total of 1741 coastal households were surveyed to document the field observations using a structured survey schedule. The climate change vulnerability was assessed through perception analysis for the derived sensitivity (fishery and social attributes) and adaptive capacity indicators (economic attributes and development drivers). The different sources of vulnerability were identified and water scarcity was found to be the most critical. The perception towards fishery sensitivity revealed the impact towards significant changes in the fish species distribution, migration of fishes, shift in fishing ground, fish catch and the existence of major fishery. We could observe adequate affiliation with community groups and Fisheries Co-operatives, greater change in livelihood aspiration among youngsters and lesser observance of gender disparity under social attributes. The economic adaptive capacity on the other hand comprised the increased cost of living accompanied by high input cost for fishing and economic loss due to spoilage. It was found that anthropogenic pollutants, industrialization and prominent urbanization were greatly deteriorating the development. The study clearly indicates the need to create awareness on climate change variability and adaptation strategies for improved resilience.