Abstract rnIntroduction: Mechanical ventilation is the primary method of supporting organ function inrnpatients treated in intensive care units. The information on the characteristics and outcomes ofrnpatients requiring mechanical ventilation is critical for the understanding of reasons forrnmortality. However, there is a scarce of literature in developing countries, including Ethiopia. rnObjective: The objective of this study is to assess the characteristics and outcomes ofrnmechanically ventilated adult ICU patients in selected public hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,rnfrom 2019 to 2020. rnMethod: An institutional-based quantitative cross-sectional study design was employed. AllrnAdult patients who were mechanically ventilated in adult ICU for at least 24 hours were includedrnand the collected data was evaluated with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25rnsoftware. rnResult: Of 181 mechanically ventilated patients, 98(54.4%) were male. The main reason forrnventilation was respiratory failure. Volume-controlled ventilation was the preferred initialrnventilation mode followed by pressure-controlled ventilation. The main weaning techniquernemployed for the survived patients was CPAP followed by a T-tube trial. The mean duration ofrnstay in the ventilator was 7.09Â± 6.06, and the length of stay in ICU was 10.04 Â± 10.242 days. Thernmortality rate in mechanically ventilated patients was 41.7%. The mortality rate was higher inrnpatients with cardiac diseases. Inotropic use, sedation use, and length of stay on mechanicalrnventilator independently associated with mortality. rnConclusion and recommendation: The mortality rate of mechanically ventilated patients in thernselected public hospitals was high. It is better to use a Customized severity score while admittingrnpatients to ICU and implement different quality improvement projects.