An ecological study dealing with species composition, distribution, relative abundancernpopulation density, biomass and habitat association of rodents was carried out in Pawernarea around Almu in Ethiopia during August, 2008 âˆ’ March, 2009 in natural forest,rnplantation, bushland, grassland and maize farm habitats. In each of the habitat types,rngrids were randomly selected for live-trapping and snap-trapping. Live-traps and snaptrapsrnwere set for three days twice during the wet and dry seasons. A total of 643rnindividuals comprising 10 species of rodents and two species of insectivores wererncaptured. The rodents trapped were Mastomys natalensis (37.9%), Arvicanthisrndembeensis (28.8%), Stenocephalemys albipes (9.2%), Mastomys erythroleucus (7.5%),rnArvicanthis niloticus (4.5%), Acomys cahirinus (3.6%), Tatera robusta (2.6%),rnLemniscomys striatus (1.7%), Mus musculus (0.9%) and Rattus rattus (0.3%). The twornspecies of insectivores trapped were Crocidura flavescens (2.2%) and Crocidura fumosarn(0.8%). In addition to this, Tachyorctes spledens, Hystrix cristata, Heliosciurusrngambianus and Euxerus erythropus were observed in the study area. The populationrndensity ranged from 50/ha in the plantation to 311/ha in the bushland. M. natalensis wasrnthe most abundant and widely distributed species and R. rattus the least with limited inrndistribution in the present study area. The majority of the rodents and insectivores werernassociated with the bushland habitat. More number of rodents was trapped during the wetrnseason than during the dry season. There was also significant variation in trap successrnamong different habitat types. High cumulative average trap success of 26.2% wasrnrecorded in the bushland, whereas the lowest trap success of 4.2% was recorded in thernplantation. Individuals of all age categories were present during the present study in allrntrapping sessions. Abundance of rodents was reduced during the dry season as a result ofrnfire. The level of maize crop damage by rodents was 14.2 %. M. natalensis, A.rndembeensis, M. erythroleucus and T. robusta were recorded as pests of maize crop in thernstudy area.rnKey words/ phrases: Abundance, distribution, habitat association, Pawe, populationrndensity, rodents, species composition.