Strengthening the health system of developing countries requires a well-functioning laboratory.rnIn this regard, properly functioning medical laboratory equipment is one of the criticalrncomponents. However, there is a great concern that the laboratory equipment maintenance is arncritical bottleneck for strengthening health systems in sub-Saharan Africa.rnBACKGROUND:rnOBJECTIVE: To assessfunctionality status of Medical Laboratory Equipment and reasons forrntheir malfunction among Public Health Hospitals in Addis Ababa, 2018.rnMETHODS: Facility basedcross-sectional study design was employed at14public hospitals inrnAddis Ababa from September to November, 2018.A convenient sampling method was used torninclude 14 public hospitals in Addis Ababa. Quantitative data collection tool with pretestedrninterviewer administered questionnaire and checklist was used to collect pertinent data onrnequipment management system. Data were entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20.0rn(SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The results were presented by using tables and graphs.rnFrequencies for all variables were counted and cross tabulated using percentages.rnResult:A total of 115 medical laboratory equipment were assessed in this study from 14 publicrnhospitals in Addis Ababa. Almost one-third 33% (38) of laboratory equipment were chemistryrnmachines with different model and country of origin. The overall functionality status of medicalrnlaboratory equipment was 58.3% (67/115). Unavailability of spare parts is the primary reason forrnmalfunction of medical laboratory equipment among public hospitals in Addis Ababa. Lack ofrnspare parts accounts about 39.6% (19/48) ofthe non-functionality of medical laboratoryrnequipment during the study period followed by installation problem 14.6% (7/48) andrnunavailability of reagents 12.5% (6/48).rnConclusion:This study has shown that a large proportion of medical laboratory equipmentrnwere non-functional among public hospitals in Addis Ababa. The study also has shown that thernmain reason for non-functionality of medical laboratory equipment was lack of spare partsrnfollowed by installation problem. Based on our findings, we recommend laboratories shouldrnfollow manufacturer instructions to install laboratory equipment, capability building thernbiomedical engineers, avail necessary spare parts and reagent to utilize the most out of them.