Maternal mortality is an indicator of disparity and inequality between men andrnwomen. It is also a sign of women's place in the society and their access to socialrnservices and economic opportunities. It is well documented that, of all humanrndevelopment indicators, maternal mortality ratio shows the largest discrepancy betweenrndeveloped and developing countries.rnThe main objective of this study was to identify major socio-demographic andrnpathogenic correlates of maternal mortality among women admitted for maternal casesrnin Adama hospital over the last seven years based on the hospital records. In thernbivariate analysis all of the demographic variables, residence and almost all thernpathogenic variables considered were found to be statistically significant. In the logisticrnregression analysis, contrary to what is expected and hypothesized, age and parity ofrnthe women show no statistical significance. Gravidity on the other hand, was found tornbe a significant predictor of maternal mortality, and as hypothesized, women of gravidityrn4 and above are at higher risk of maternal mortality compared to their counterparts withrngravidity 2-3.rnResidence was also a highly significant variable with high predictive value.rnConsistent with expectation, women coming from outside Adama town were at higherrnrisk of maternal death compared with their counterparts of Adama town.rnOnce the statistical association between the dependent and the independentrnvariables were examined, to identify the relative contribution of each of the specificrnpathogenic factor to maternal mortality, a separate model was fitted. The result showedrnthat all of the major specific pathogenic variables were statistically significant. In order ofrntheir importance in influencing maternal mortality they can be listed as: hemorrhage,rninfection, hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, malaria, obstructed or prolonged labour,rnanemia and abortion. Contrary to expectation,experiencing abortion was found tornreduce the risk of maternal death in the hospital. The possible explanation given for thisrnfinding is the availability and effectiveness of post abortion care in the hospital.rnThe study thus, provide an insight as to what mainly causes maternal mortality inrnthe areas around the study hospital which those concerned in improving maternal healthrnmight find usefu