The ballot comes three months before the presidential election which Mr Putin is to contestExit polls in Russia's parliamentary elections point to a sharp drop in support for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Polls for Russian state TV and the state-backed polling organisation showed United Russia got about 48.5% of the vote, down from 64% in 2007.
That would give Mr Putin's party 220 members in the 450-seat lower house.
Russia's only independent monitoring group, Golos, logged 5,300 complaints alleging violations of election laws.
Its party chairman said United Russia hoped to remain the largest party in the lower house of parliament, or Duma.
'Violations and fraud'If the result is confirmed, United Russia could lose its current two-thirds majority which allowed it to change the constitution unchallenged.
Nonetheless, party chairman Boris Gryzlov says the party hopes to get a majority in the Duma.
Exit polls suggest the Communists will take second place, with about 20% of the vote.
"We have received thousands of calls from regional offices, confirming massive violations and fraud," said Communist Party deputy head Ivan Melnikov on the party website.
"Throughout the day, it was like receiving reports from a war zone."
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Moscow, says if confirmed, the result will be a significant embarrassment to Mr Putin, three months before he is scheduled to run again for the Russian presidency.
He says opposition parties are alleging widespread fraud, including the stuffing of ballot boxes and voters being offered money.
Mr Putin served as president from 2000 to 2008 but was prohibited by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term.
Golos, whose monitors are not affiliated with any party, said its website suffered a cyber-attack.
The organisation - whose name means "voice" or "vote" - is funded largely by the US and EU.
Prime Minister Putin has accused foreign powers of meddling in election preparations, while Duma members have questioned why a foreign-funded organisation is allowed to monitor Russian elections.
Moscow police said more than 100 people were arrested at an opposition demonstration in the city centre on Sunday.
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