Absence or presence of limited data about the quantity and composition of solid waste is one of the reasons for poor solid waste management in Addis Ababa. Domestic soh a waste quantIty ana composition analysis is one of the fundamental inputs for planning solid waste management services as domestic solid waste has a major share in developing countries. Domestic solid waste quantity and composition analysis study was conducted in Arada sub-city. It is one of the ten subcities of Addis Ababa. This study was done (i) to determine the domestic solid waste generation rates at the source of generation, (2) to decipher the chemical composition of solid wastes and (3) to determine the role of socio- economic levels in household wastes generation rate in Arada sub - city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. To determine the minimum number of households that should be analyzed and to obtain results with reasonable accuracy, proportionality that derived from domestic waste, income variables and standard deviation of the population determined from preliminary survey conducted in other African countries were used. After determining, the required number of households, socioeconomic and solid waste management system related problems, domestic solid waste data collection, sorting of solid wastes in to different components and sizes, and measurement were carried out in 197 randomly selected households for 8 consecutive days. Proximate and ultimate analysis was also carried out. The survey and collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science 10 (SPSS 10) software. In Arada sub • .city, there is a problem of solid waste collection and disposal systems. Communal containers are very few, located inappropriate places, have insufficient capacity and emptied infrequently. The result showed that the weighted mean waste generation rate for Arada sub-city was 106 gml capita! day. The waste generation rate measured in weight and in volume units was directly related to household income. In all income groups, the food waste constitutes the highest proportion of the waste stream and its fraction is 59.2 %. Food and yard wastes have the optimum C-to-N ratio and moisture contents similar to the standard values of municipal solidwastes. Thus, they are suitable for composting. Food waste also has the highest caloric value and it is recommendable for energy recovery. For a sustainable waste management, a great attention should be given to individuals as well as private organizations that are involved in material/energy recovery, recycling and composting activities. In addition to this, enough communal containers should be located in reasonable distance and their location should be done in conjunction with the residents and they should be emptied frequently. Estimating the quantity and composition of household waste at the source of generation is very crucial. However, there are some practical issues that should be considered during sampling to improve the accuracy and the relevance of the result.