Background: Malaria remains endemic in 106 countries while parasite-based diagnosisrnincreasing. Most suspected cases of malaria still not properly confirmed, resulting in over-use ofrnanti-malarial drugs and poor disease monitoring. Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) arernmethod. But, since it has still drawback in correctly identifying malaria species, further studiesrnshould be carried out to use the CareStartTM Malaria Pf/Pv Combo Test instead of microscopyrnfor the diagnosis of malariarnrnalternative diagnostic methods which have enabled reliable biological diagnostic testing in allrnsituations where previously only clinical diagnosis was available. The diagnostic accuracy ofrnRDTs can vary significantly across different geographical regions. This variable quality ofrnmalaria RDTs, and consequently their diagnostic performance, have made it difficult for policyrnmakers to determine which tests are the most suitable.rnObjective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of CareStart TMrnMalaria Pf/Pv Combo RDT by comparing with light microscope for malaria diagnosis inrnArbaminch Hospital and Health center, Southern Ethiopia.rnMethods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from October 1, 2015 up to October 15,rn2016. A total of 160 patients were included in the study. Socio demographic data collection wasrndone using structured questionnaire. Finger prick blood sample was obtained from those studyrnsubjects for Care StartTM Malaria Pf/Pv combo test, thin and thick film was preparedrnimmediately for microscopic examination. Collected data from this study was entered using EpirnData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013. Sensitivity,rnspecificity, PPV and NPV was determined in comparison with the gold standard Microscopyrnmethod.rnResult: In this study, it was found that Care startrnTMrncombo test had an overall sensitivity,rnspecificity, PPV, and NPV of 97.44%, 93.67%, 93.83%, and 97.37% respectively, with Kapparnvalue of 0.877 to detect the presence or absence of malaria. Sensitivity and specificity of the kitrnfor p. falciparum detection was 63.27 % and 94.3% and for p. vivax detection was 86.96 % andrn95.62 % respectively, which is below WHO standard. Agreement between Light microscopy andrnCare StartrnTMrnmalaria RDT for specific identification of malaria species is moderate with kapparnvalue of 0.568. It showed better performance at Arbaminch health center than ArbaminchrnHospital with sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 96.07%, 80%, 92.45% and 88.88%rnrespectively.rnConclusion and recommendations: The kit evaluated has good overall performance inrndetection of malaria cases which is almost comparable with the Gold standard microscopy