Preterm neonates require care in the neonatal intensive care unit for various reasons. One of the common problems encountered in these neonates is respiratory distress syndrome where the management could be either using CPAP or mechanical ventilation. Newborn infants, including those born extremely preterm, can perceive pain. The entire duration when the neonate is on the ventilator could be a stressful experience for the neonate. Pain if unmanaged can have an immediate impact on hemodynamic and physiologic stability and altered stress hormone expression. There could also be long term effects on brain growth, development, cognition, and motor components. Hence alleviating pain is of prime importance. Various drugs have been used in intensive care units to reduce pain in neonates. Current neonatal drug regimens used to achieve pain relief generally consist of combinations of benzodiazepines and opioids like morphine, fentanyl, midazolam .  Though these drugs have proven efficacy as sedatives and analgesics, they are often accompanied by a spectrum of side effects that might prolong the duration of ventilation and hospitalization. There is always a search for newer sedatives and analgesics which have fewer adverse effects. Dexmedetomidine is one such drug that has been tried as it provides both sedation and analgesia when used alone, and has benzodiazepine and opioid‐sparing properties when used in combination with more conventional agents. The current study is being undertaken to know the efficacy of Dexmeditomedine versus morphine infusion in preterm ventilated neonates.