Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review critical success factors (CSFs) of total quality management (TQM), and to rank these in the Indian manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach - To rank the CSFs, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used. The data were collected using questionnaires as the research instrument. Findings - Process management, top management leadership and customer focus are the top three factors for implementation of TQM in the manufacturing industry in India. Quality citizenship is a relatively low-ranked factor. Practical limitations/implications - The findings will be useful in successful implementation of TQM in developing countries like India. Further research may be carried out into the CSFs in different national contexts. Originality/value - The paper is the first to make use of TOPSIS approach to rank the CSFs of TQM.