The tremor, whose epicentre was in the Kutch region of the state, struck at 11.51 pm, the Met office in Delhi said.
The quake lasting for nearly a minute was felt in Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat and parts of Saurashtra and many parts of Ahmedabad where several multi-storyed buildings shook under its impact.
With memories of the devastating earthquake of January 26 2001, when nearly 1,000 people were killed in the state, still fresh in their minds, men, women and children refused to return to their homes even after the tremors stopped and chose to remain outdoor.