This paper is a geometric study of the local observer design for a general class of nonlinear systems with real parametric uncertainty. Explicitly, we study the observer design problem for a general class of nonlinear systems with real parametric uncertainty and with an input generator (exosystem). In this paper, we show that for the classical case, when the state equilibrium does not change with the parametric uncertainty, and when the plant output is purely a function of the state, there is no local asymptotic observer for the plant. Next, we show that in sharp contrast to this case, for the general case of problems where we allow the state equilibrium to change with the parametric uncertainty, there typically exist local exponential observers even when the plant output is purely a function of the state. We also present a characterization and construction procedure for local exponential observers for the general class of nonlinear systems with real parametric uncertainty under some stability assumptions. We also show that for the general class of nonlinear systems considered, under some stability assumptions, the existence of local exponential observers in the presence of inputs implies, and is implied by, the existence of local exponential observers in the absence of inputs. Finally, we generalize our results to a general class of nonlinear systems with input generator, and with exogenous disturbance. (~) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.