A miniaturized UWB antenna with multiple notch bands is proposed for modern wireless applications. The proposed microstrip-line-fed antenna consists a Y-shaped strip supported by defected ground structure. Procedure of bandwidth enhancement with multiple notch bands is presented. 163.6% of impedance bandwidth ranging from 1.5 to 15 GHz with three notch bands at 3–3.6, 6–6.8 and 9.2–9.8 GHz is achieved with gain of 2–6 dBi within the band. Accurate equivalent circuit model is presented for proposed antenna structure. Proposed antenna shows good radiation characteristics with very large bandwidth including three notch bands and suppressed cross-polarization level up to − 35 dB. The designed antenna is tested experimentally and measured results are verified with the simulated and theoretical results.