Background- Compromised drinking water quality due to accumulation of heavy metals is becoming a serious concern for many countries, including Ethiopia. Chronic exposure to heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, chromium and manganese has been shown to have harmful effects on the health of human beings. The presence of high levels of heavy metals in drinking water brings a potential threat to the health of consumers.rnAim of the study- The aim of this study is to determine the levels of heavy metals in drinking water supplied by pipe to Addis Ababa city.rnMethodology- The study was conducted in Addis Ababa town from April 2018 to December 2018 G.C. A community based cross-sectional study design was employed. Water samples were collected from both surface and ground drinking water sources. Inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used to measure the concentration of heavy metals in drinking water samples. Data was entered using the software SPSS version 20.rnResult-This study showed that the highest concentration of lead was recorded in water samples taken from Gefersa, Asko and Kolfie areas (0.06mg/l, 0.06 mg/l and 0.05 mg/l respectively). Cadmium concentration was below the detection limit in all water samples except those taken from Asko and Kolfie areas. The result of this study also showed that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean levels of lead among water samples taken from different treatment plants and their respective catchments (0.02Â±0.002 mg/l in Akaki deep well, 0.01Â±0.001 mg/l in Legedadi surface water treatment plant and 0.05Â±0.001 mg/l in Gefersa surface water treatment plant) (p-value