Growth in pulp and paper production entails massive felling of trees, which in turn leads torndeforestation. Increasing competition for wood supplies coupled with gradually rising costs ofrnwood have generated renewed interest in the use of non-wood plant fibers for papermaking inrnthe highly industrialized countries.rnThe utilization of agricultural residues for the production of value-added products presents anrninnovative opportunity for sustainable resource management, provides additional income forrnfarmers and contributes to the development of rural economies.rnIn this study pulping of wheat straw was carried out by conventional soda-antraquinone (AQ)rnpulping under different conditions. The influence of soda concentration (10, 12 and 14% onrnthe basis of dried wheat straw), cooking temperature (155,160 and 1650C) and cooking timern(20, 35 and 50 min) on pulp properties were studied. Results indicated that soda concentrationrnand cooking time had a significant influence on yield and kappa number.rnHowever the best result with respect to yield and kappa number was obtained with 10% sodarnconcentration with 20 min cooking time.rnPhysical tests of hand sheets made from wheat straw soda-AQ pulps were carried out atrnEthiopian Pulp and Paper Factory located at Wonji. At the optimum operating conditionsrntensile, tear and burst index were determined to be 67.9 Nm/g, 7.5 mNm2/g and 7.3 kN/grnrespectively.