This study was aimed at investigating food security and livelihood challenges of refugees. Arnretrospective cross-sectional study design was employed, and questionnaire-based primaryrndata was collected from 202 sample households. In addition, key informant interview andrnfocus group discussions were used. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS),rnSustainable Livelihood Framework and Coping mechanism were used to achieve the foodrnsecurity status, livelihood availability and challenge as well as the way the urban refugeesrncop up in times of difficulty respectively. The data was managed and analyzed usingrnStatistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v20). Results were presented using tables. Thernresults showed that the main income source of respondents was remittance (35%), earningsrnfrom casual labor (24.3 percent), revenues from small businesses (23.7 %). The challengesrnfaced by the refugees were the lack of working permits (36.7%) as the main challengernfollowed by lack of job opportunities (24.9%), lack of experience (13.6) was rated as the thirdrnchallenge. 67% of the study households were food secure while 22% mildly food insecure andrn9% of them were moderately food insecure. The findings also showed that frequently adoptedrncoping mechanisms such as reduce the number of meals eaten in a day (78.6%), lessrnpreferred and less expensive foods (62.7%), limit portion size at mealtimes (60%) and borrowrnfood or rely on help from a friend or relative (35%) to manage food shortages. More than 30rnthousands refugees live in Addis Ababa but the Government of Ethiopia restrict their right tornwork, hence the urban refugees often depended on informal economy livelihoods andrnstruggle to secure their food requirement. Finally, it is recommended that policyrnimplementation and improvement is needed. Jobs and livelihoods interventions also need tornbe better coordinated and guided by government to set out procedures and standards forrndeveloping employment opportunities for refugees.