Infertili ty is a ",.:arld- wide problem affecting 8- 12 % of married couples. Thernprevalence of infertility i n some areas of the s u b- Sahara region reaches asrnhigh as 30%. Muc h of the literature on i nfertility deals with the problems ofrninfertility for women i n the western countries and little is known as to whatrnputs women in sub- Sahara Africa vulnerable to infertility and as to howrnperceive t he causes of i nfertility. A cross- sectional s urvey was cond uctedrni n r ural Butajira, Ethiopia , i n t he period between t he 1 3 th of May a nd 23'"rnof June , 1 999 t o determi ne the magnitude a nd potential r i sk factors ofrni nfertili ty. A total of 901 women in t he age gro up 20 to 29 years werernenrol led into the study from surveil lance register.rnThe prevalence of primary a nd secondary i nferti l ity was 2. 9~ and 16 .1 %rnrespectively . Comparison was made between cases of secondary infertility andrnfertile women about potential risk factors. Pregnancy wastage, age at firstrnmarriage lenD than 16 years, STDs occ urring after the last pregnancy,rnpolygamous marriage, a nd low level education of t he husba nds were fo undrnsignifica ntly associated with secondary i nfert ility . Most women with thernproblem of infertility i n t he area visit t he witc h-craft , more often t han thernhealth institutions. It is recommended t hat public health officials mustrni ncrease t he access to and strengthe n programs aiming at t he reduction ofrnpost- partum a nd post- abortal i nfections a nd STDs . Due attention should berngiven for developing and implementing protocols for evaluating and managingrninfertility .