Solid waste should be characterized by their sources, types of wastes produced, as well as generation rates and composition. Accurate information in these characteristics is necessary to establish proper waste management systems and for regulatory, financial, and institutional decisions making. The lack of timely information about the generation and composition of solid waste in Addis Ababa is one of the reasons among many for unsatisfactory solid waste management in Addis Ababa. This research was conducted in Arada Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to determine the commercial solid waste, domestic and commercial solid waste generation rates and their physical and chemical composition in order to contribute to decision support in planning and development of municipal solid waste management systems. The study was carried out by classifying the whole commercial establishments population in Arada Sub City in two five strata. Commercial solid waste generation and composition data were collected and solid waste management related survey was also conducted. The collected data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science 10 (SPSS 10) software. Hand sorting was used for classifying the collected waste in to the following fourteen fractions: Paper, Plastic, Glass, Metal, Food waste, Textiles/leather, Rubber, Wood, Yard waste, Inorganic, Electronics, Potentially hazardous Waste, Special waste, and particles less than 10mm. Proximate, ultimate and calorific value were also determined in selected commercial solid waste fractions such as food waste, yard waste, paper and textile. X The study result shows that in Arada Sub City the estimated commercial solid waste generation rate per employee per day is 1.6 Kg and 4.9 lt by weight and volume respectively. And the average commercial solid waste density is 323.4 Kg/m3. Total commercial and residential solid waste generation rate per capita per day by weight and by volume in Arada Sub City is 0.55 Kg and 1.97 lt, respectively. And the density of commercial and residential solid waste is 277.7 Kg /m3. The percentage composition of commercial solid waste fractions clearly shows that food waste takes the largest proportion of commercial solid waste and followed by paper, yard and plastic waste consecutively, by weight and volume. This study also indicates the presence of potentially hazardous waste in the studied area i.e. 0.36 % by weight and 0.2 % by volume from the total commercial solid waste generated per day. The result shows that due to inadequate solid waste management system, Arada Sub City has faced a problem related to solid waste collection and disposal. The existing infrastructure for solid waste collection in Arada Sub City is not proportional to the amount of solid waste generated from commercial and residential source. In addition the number of municipal containers and trucks for collection and transportation of waste is not adequate. If composting and recycling are exercised in Arada sub city there is a possibility to reduce the amount of commercial solid waste going to be disposed in the landfill from Arada Sub City by 98.04 %. The energy value of food waste, yard waste, paper and cardboard from commercial source is higher than their respective energy value from residential source. The C: N ratio of the waste is also suitable for compost making. Thus based on the generation rate and composition of solid wastes in Arada Sub City integrated solid waste management system which combines a range of solid waste treatment options like source reduction, composting, recycling and waste to energy transformation is recommended.