In Ethiopia, many different types of indigenous and exotic trees occur and are utilized by local communities for various purposes. However, little is known about the preference of the people with regard to the benefit of the trees. The main objective of this study was to compare the importance of some indigenous and exotic trees co-occurring in the Dabat District, North Gonder. The uses and local community preferences of indigenous trees such as Podocarpus falcatus, Olea europea subsp. capsidata, Acacia abyssinica, Hagenia abyssinica, Juniperus procera, Cordia africana, Croton macrostachyus were compared with that of Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Cupressus lusitanica. Ethnobotanical methods of data collection mainly semi structured interviews were used to collect the data. Analyses of data also followed the standard Ethnobotanical methods. When comparing these indigenous and exotic trees;for Fier wood, charcoal, timber & non-timber products, ornament, fence, construction, beam roof, financial income, raw material for rope, cultural chair, cultural bed, etc., theexotic treees were prefered better than the indigenous trees. Whereas, the local people prefer sources of indigenous trees for uses such as food, agricultural tools, smoking, shade, fodder, washing material, for ignition purpose, teeth brush, mortar, tradition medicine, detergent, for relegious purposeraw material, etc. Even though each of the two category of trees has their own socio-economic importance, the preference ananalyses shows that the local community incline towards the exotic tree category, particularly eucalyptus globulus. This is mainly because of its fast growing rate, more coppice after cutting as well as its profitable external market . Consequently, the local people in the study area plant more exotic trees than the indigenous. The low land areas and church yards keep the indigenous trees than the exotic trees. This could be due to the availability of water and relegious and cultural uses of the indigenous trees. This reflects the traditional ecological knowledge of local communities as well as the contribution of the knowledge system to sustainable use of plant biodiversity and to the conservation planning.