This study oonsiders the rhizobial status of some localities in the NorthernrnShewa Zone, where faba bean yield has deoreased. Composite soil samplesrnwere taken from representative areas of two yield depleted areas, Molale andrnMehal-Meda and two yield sustained areas, Keyt and Ankober.Soil analysisrnwas done on the four soil samples to know their nutrient content and status ofrnrhizobial population. It was found that the m.imbe~ of rhizobia per gram of yieldrndepleted area soils was very low where as it was very high in the yield sustainedrnarea soils. The phosphorus and potassium cOhtentof Molale and Mehal-Medarnsoils was also lower than that of Ankober and Key! soils. However, the nitrogenrncontent of all the four soil samples was high. Also four Rhizobiumrnleguminosarum strains were isolated from these soil samples by planting thernhost plant faba bean. The isolates were identified as different strains by usingrnPCR-based amplification of specific DNA fragments of nitrogen fixing promoterrnregion of the Rhizobium genome. The relative symbiotic effectiveness of thernfour isolates and one exotic strain Tal 1397N was determined in sand culture.rnThe results showed that all the four local isolates and the exotic strain haven'trncaused any significant improvement from the control in any of the growthrnparameters except nodule fresh weight. Pot experiment was conducted to knowrnthe effect of inOCUlation by the local isolates and the exotic strain (Tal 1397N)rnand nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (urea and DAP) on the growth of fabarnbean.