EXHIBIT 32

CERTIFICATIONS OF CEO AND CFO PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO

SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 

(18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350)

In connection with the Annual Report of Cornerstone Bancshares, Inc., a Tennessee corporation (the “Company”), on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), each of Nathaniel F. Hughes, President of the Company, and Gary W. Petty, Jr., Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, do hereby certify, pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (18 U.S.C. § 1350), that to his knowledge:

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and result of operations of the Company.

/ s/  Nathaniel F. Hughes

Nathaniel F. Hughes

President

(principal executive officer)

Date: March 29, 2012

/ s/  Gary W. Petty, Jr.

Gary W. Petty, Jr.

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(principal financial officer and accounting officer)

Date: March 29, 2012

[A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906 has been provided to Cornerstone Bancshares, Inc. and will be retained by Cornerstone Bancshares, Inc. and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.]