Woody species of the coastal forest of Penang island have received substantial focus in term of their diversity,composition and spatial distribution. In comparison, comprehensive data on the non-woody plant speciescomponent, specifically the palms and pandans, are relatively lacking. The objective of this study was toprovide baseline data on the non-woody component of Penang coastal forest flora which would become aplatform for more extensive research on their population dynamic. In order to provide these baseline data,an assessment of the diversity and distribution of two non-woody families, namely palms and pandans, wasconducted in Teluk Bahang Permanent Forest Reserve (TBPFR) located in Penang, from February 2005 toJanuary 2008. One ha plot (100 metre x 100 metre) was established in the TBFR and all palms and pandanswere enumerated and individual positions were recorded. A total of seven species of palms and two species ofpandans (i.e. Pandanus ovatus and Pandanus penangiensis) were recorded. The most abundant palm speciesis Eugeisona tristis, with a total count of 551 individuals, whilst a total of 312 P. ovatus were also enumerated.Based upon the Morisita Standardized Modified Index of Dispersion, the distribution of the two monocotsranged from random to clumped distribution.