This paper attempts to examine the earnings management behavior of Indian firms during the global financial crisis in 2008 and compare with the period before and after. It uses the financial data of S&P CNX 500 companies for the period of 2007-2012. GICS, the best industry classification system among competing alternatives, has been used for computing discretionary accruals (DA). The study finds a high level of earnings management in firms during the pre-crisis period, a significant decrease during the crisis period, and an increase again in the post-crisis period. The study further examines the earnings management behavior isolating the firms into two categories – firms with positive DA and firms with negative DA. We found that earnings management in both these categories of firms decreased during the crisis period and increased in the post-crisis period for firms with negative DA. However, for firms with positive DA, our results are inconclusive.