This study sought to determine the prevalence of Ayurvedic medicines available via the Internet containing detectable lead, mercury or arsenic and to compare the prevalence of toxic metals in US vs. Indian manufactured medicines and between rasa shastra and non-rasa shastra medicines. A search using five Internet search engines and the search terms Ayurveda and Ayurvedic medicine identified 25 Websites offering traditional Ayurvedic herbs, formulas or ingredients commonly used in Ayurveda, indicated for oral use, and available for sale. From 673 identified products, 230 Ayurvedic medicines were randomly selected for purchase in August–October 2005. Country of manufacturer/Website supplier, rasa shastra status, and claims of good manufacturing practices were recorded. Metal concentrations were measured using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The prevalence of medicines with detectable toxic metals in the entire sample and stratified by country of manufacture and rasa shastra status was measured. One hundred and ninety-three of the 230 requested medicines were received and analysed. The prevalence of metal-containing products was 20.7%. The prevalence of metals in US-manufactured products was 21.7% compared with 19.5% in Indian products. Rasa shastra compared with non-rasa shastra medicines had a greater prevalence of metals and higher median concentrations of lead and mercury. Among the metal-containing products, 95% were sold by US Websites and 75% claimed good manufacturing practices. All metal-containing products exceeded one or more standards for acceptable daily intake of toxic metals.