The accused, D Govind (35), a daily wage labourer, had been harassing his wife Papa (29) for dowry since sometime, police said, quoting allegations levelled by the victim's relatives.
Govind and Papa, who have two children, got married four years back.
The accused fled after killing his wife with a sharp-edged weapon at their home in the city's Simachalam area, police said, adding that a search has been launched to nab him.
The body has been sent to Rajahmundry Government general hospital for postmortem, they said.