A crucial element in planning water quality assessment, management and conservation programmernof a river is the selection of the biological indicators used to appraise biodiversity andrnenvironmental conditions. The present study, therefore, aimed at comparing macroinvertebratesrnand diatoms as bioindicators of river water quality in Addis Ababa. A total of 16 sampling stationsrnwere selected along the course of Kebena River and Little and Big Akaki Rivers for qualitativernevaluation of physical habitats and collection of samples used for the determination of therntaxonomic composition and abundance of macroinvertebrates and diatoms. Riffle sites were chosenrnfor sampling to make the comparison among sites easier. Standard methods of sampling andrnanalysis of samples were employed throughout the study period. Biotic indices and multivariaternanalytical methods, particularly dissimilarity index, clustering and indirect ordinations were usedrnfor the analysis of the results. Macroinvertebrates diversity was extremely poor precludingrncomparison among sampling stations. The highest and lowest macroinvertebrates taxa richness wasrn5 and 0 respectively. Surprisingly, only two macroinvertebrates taxa were found at the upstreamrnsite of Kebena River, which had the least anthropogenic disturbance but with the least physicalrnhabitat quality (40.6 %). But, the highest diatom tax richness (30 taxa) was observed at this siternfollowed by 17 taxa at the upstream of both Little Akaki and Big Akaki Rivers. The lowest diatomrntaxa richness (4 taxa) was observed near the discharge point of Awash Tannery, where otherrnindustries are also concentrated. Community loss index for diatom data was higher at samplingrnsites receiving industrial effluent. All diatom biotic indices were indicative of responses to load ofrnpollution though it was not possible to select the index that could discriminate impacted sites fromrnreference site clearly with such cross-sectional study. Generally, the study depicted that the riversrnin Addis Ababa are highly affected by physical habitat degradation and pollution due to point andrnnon-point sources. Based on biotic indices and multivariate analysis results, diatoms are found tornbe better than macroinvertebrates in indicating sources and degree of pollution as well as inrndiscriminating reference site from impacted sites of the study area. Hence, studies that considerrnseasonal variations and all the factors that determine diatoms composition are recommended inrnorder to develop a refined diatom-based river water quality monitoring tool for the rivers in AddisrnAbaba and other parts of the country. Furthermore, responsible authorities should take urgentrnameliorative measures to improve water quality of the rivers in the city.rnKey words: macroinvertebrates; diatoms; bioindicator; water quality; monitoring; indices