In this paper a compact patch antenna backed with artificial meta-surface known as reactive impedance surface (RIS) is designed for circular polarization in the ISM band. The antenna consists of an asymmetric diagonal slits with pair of complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs) on patch over the RIS structure. Asymmetric slits and pair of CSRRs are inserted on radiating patch to achieve circular polarization. RIS is used for improving the radiation characteristics of the antenna, while RIS-based patch provides good impedance matching over a broad frequency range. Simulated results are in good agreement with the measured results. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.