Abstract. Let M n be a compact (two-sided) minimal hypersurface in a Riemannian manifold M n+1 . It is a simple fact that if M has positive Ricci curvature then M cannot be stable (i. e. its Jacobi operator L has index at least one). If M = S n+1 is the unit sphere and L has index one, then it is known that M must be a totally geodesic equator.We prove that if M is the real projective space P n+1 = S n+1 /{±}, obtained as a metric quotient of the unit sphere, and the Jacobi operator of M has index one, then M is either a totally geodesic sphere or the quotient to the projective space of the hypersurface S n 1 (R 1 ) × S n 2 (R 2 ) ⊂ S n+1 obtained as the product of two spheres of dimensions n 1 , n 2 and radius R 1 , R 2 , with n 1 + n 2 = n, R 2 1 + R 2 2 = 1 and n 1 R 2 2 = n 2 R 2 1 .