Land use and land cover change (LULCC) has been a key research priority throughout the worldrnwith multi-directional impacts on both human and natural systems. The objective of this study isrnto assess the effect of land use land cover change on stream flow of Borkena watershed. Thernstudy was examined by Arc GIS10.3. SWAT model used with GIS to assess the impact of landrnuse and land cover change on stream flow. Specifically, the study analyzed the temporal changesrnof land use land cover change using 1986, 2000 and 2011 land use and land cover maps. Thernmodel was set up using readily available temporal data, and calibrated using the measuredrndischarge. Land cover change analysis shown that the cultivated land increased from 8.58% torn14.25%,agricultural land increased from 9.88% to 34.82% as well as urban areas from 1.16% torn9.94% between 1986 and 2011. While shrub land decreased from 11.04% to 8.39%, Forestrndecreased from 57.33% to 23.77%, grassland decreased from 10.74% to 8.74%, wetlandrndecreased from1.26% to 0.09% between 1986 and 2011.CN2, ALPHA_BF, CH_K2 and SOL_Zrnwere the most sensitive parameters identified for the stream flow of the study area and used forrncalibration of the model. The model calibration was carried out using observed stream flow datarnfrom 01 January 1998 to 31 December 2001 and a validation period from 01 January 2002 to 31rnDecember 2003. Both the calibration and validation results showed a good agreement betweenrnmeasured and simulated stream flow with the coefficient of determination (Rrn) of 0.93 and NashSutcliffernefficiencyrnrn(ENS) of 0.89 for the calibration, and Rrn2rn of 0.98 and ENS of 0.95 for thernvalidation periods. Within the calibration and validation period the rainfall and surface runoffrnpattern is the same with percentage of fit 90%. Evaluation of SWAT model showed that, annualrnsurface runoff for land use land cover period of 1986, 2000, and 2011 is 152.37mm, 193.44mmrnand 198.8mm respectively. Therefore annual surface runoff increased by +46.43mm and groundrnwater flow declined by -31.97mm between 1986 and 2011.Therfore, the model results showedrnthat the stream flow characteristics changed due to the land use/cover changes during the studyrnperiods. This study plays a role to build the ability of planners, researchers and other stakernholders to formulate and implement sound policies to minimize undesirable land use and landrncover impacts on stream flow. rn2