Objective To outline the antibacterial, antioxidant, α-glucosidase inhibition and anticancer properties of Michelia nilagirica (M. nilagirica) bark extract. Methods The antibacterial activity of bark extracts against human pathogens was assessed by disc diffusion assay. Phytochemical screening, total phenols, flavonoids content, antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibition properties of bark extracts were investigated by standard methods. In vitro anticancer activity of ethyl acetate extract at various concentrations was observed against HepG2 cells using MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazol-2yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] assay. The presence of diverse bioactive constituents in the ethyl acetate extract was identified using FT-IR and GC–MS analysis. Results Ethyl acetate extract was found to be the promising agent against human pathogens tested. The ethyl acetate extracts showed the presence of various phytochemicals and comprised the substantial content of phenolics and flavonoids. The ethyl acetate extract showed better antioxidant activities and also revealed remarkable reducing power ability and α-glucosidase inhibition property. The dose dependent assay of extract showed remarkable cancer cell death with IC