Currently Hosanna town exhibits faster growth rate as compared to other urban center inrnSNNPR. As a result, the town has been growing horizontally in unplanned expansion. Thisrncondition seems to contribute to its share for the rapid proliferation of squatter settlement atrnperiphelY of the town.rnThe main objective of the study is to assess the demographic, socio-economic andrnadminish'ative determinant factors that contribute in favor of squatter settlements. Besidesrnthis, study tried to address the forms of land acquisition, housing conditions and availabilityrnof basic amenities and services of squatters. Hence, to achieve the study objective, openrnended and close ended questions for 180 sampled squatter households were carried out inrnHosanna town in Gofar Meeda kif1a ketema particularly in the three kebeles like Bobicho,rnNarama and Heeto. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methodsrnto collect information and then answer the research questions.rnThe analysis shows that, squatting has its own link with demographic, socio-economic andrnadministrative determinant factors. Accordingly, in the shldy the researcher identified mainrnthe unfavorable factors for squatting such as family size, marital stahls, headship status,rneducation, occupation, income, poverty, weak administration, nsmg of price, overrncrowded ness and so on .However, land purchased from peasants, speculators, directrnoccupation, inheritance as well as gifts contributed to the growth and emergence of squatterrnsettlements in the study area. In addition to this, the majority of squatter migrants wererninternal migrants who migrate in search of better education, better employment, marriage asrnwell as ath'action to urban life styles. Besides this, squatters in the study area are povertyrndriven and non poverty driven; occupy large plots of the area, poor quality of housingrnconditions, poor social and infrastructural services. Thus, due to the poor managementrntogether with rapid growth urban population and high urban land demand for housernconstruction ,problems of squatting is getting serious in the study area. Finally, the studyrnshows that squatting is a buming issue in the shldy area, so concerned body should havernlegal base to legalize and prevent the future expansion in the study area.rnKey words; Squatter, Settlements, Socio-economic, Administrative, poverty