Palayamkottai, town, southern Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. It lies across the Tambraparni River and slightly downstream from the city of Tirunelveli, with which it is now merged administratively.
Palayamkottai is a residential and educational centre in the Tirunelveli urban agglomeration. A major hub for Christian missions in southern India, it has private Christian schools and colleges, and it has other colleges affiliated with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli. Cotton and palmyra are the chief commercial agricultural products grown in the surrounding region. Pop. (2001) 5,449; (2011) 6,932.