In the past forest management policies in Pakistan were based on colonial/ conventional approach which did not allow participation of the local communities in the management of forest resources. The concept of Joint Forest Management was initiated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in 1996 which emphasized the active involvement of local communities in forest management to achieve both the sustainable forest management and community livelihoods. The JFM was institutionalized through Forest Ordinance 2002 and JFM (Community Participation Rules) were framed by the forest department for its operating. Since then a number of Joint Forest Management Committees have been established for joint management of forests throughout the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The research study was conducted to analyze the impacts of JFM on rural livelihoods in Pakistan. The results of the study are based on the experience of JFM in 10 villages of Siran and Kalam Forest Divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan (selected as a case study for this research). The main objectives of research were to assess the impacts of JFM on the condition of forests and its role in livelihoods provision to the forest-adjacent communities, attitude of the concerned rural communities and forest department staff towards the approach of JFM, factors influencing local community involvement in joint management of forests and to identify issues/ problems in the JFM system and suggest improvement measures. The data was collected from the two primary stakeholders’ involved in the JFM i.e local community/ JFMC members & forest department personnel. A total of 150 No. of samples were selected from local community/ JFMCs through stratified random sampling technique whereas 20 No. of respondents were selected from forest department personnel on purposive basis. Thus the overall number of samples was 170. Interview schedules and focus group discussions were used as a tool to get the information from respondents. The results of the study revealed that the rural communities are dependent upon the forest resources for their livelihoods. The JFM has positive impacts on rural livelihoods through legal access of the local communities to the adjacent forests for satisfying their needs such as fuel wood, timber, fodder/ grasses. Further, the JFM has legally allowed the locals for collection and selling of NTFPs/ medicinal plants from the forest and for royalty/ community share in the sale of trees. The study results further showed that the JFM had played a role in generating the income earning opportunities through nursery raising and selling, daily wager opportunities in plantations, employment in forest enclosures, provision of free of cost fruit plants for orchards, seeds for kitchen gardening, capacity building/ skill development of the locals and social networking. The attitude of both the forest department personnel and local community towards the approach of JFM was found to be positive. The level of local community participation in JFM activities was high in majority of the study areas due to the above benefits of JFM. The JFM had contributed in development of forest resources through plantations on communal and private lands, nursery raising, NTFPs conservation and development, agro forestry, establishment of forest enclosures and range land improvement activities. The local community was also involved in forest protection measures such as community forest check posts, patrolling, and fire protection. The issues/ problems in the JFM explored by the study were lack of trust between locals and forest department staff, lack of clarity on JFM Rules, bureaucratic/ non-participatory approach of forest department, lack of decision making/ transfer of power to the local communities in JFM, conflicts within the local communities, and issues on distribution of monetary benefits. The study concludes that although problems exist in the JFM but it has played a role in both the livelihoods improvement and forest development. Based on the findings of the research study, the researcher offers some key recommendations for improvement, strengthening and effectiveness of the JFM.