Mental health problems of chldren in Ethiopia isrnnot known. A survey was conducted in Ambo woreda,rnwestern Ethiopia. Mothers o f 3001 children aged 5-15rnyears were interviewed for their children mental statusrnusing a WHO standardized screening instrument (RQC)rnAnd both mothers and fathers (n;2223) were alsorninterviewed for their own mental status using a WHOrnstandardized screening instrument (SRQ). A psychiatristrninterviewed 196 children initially screened by the RQCrnto evaluate the validity of RQC. The study showed thatrna cut off poi nt which maximized sensitivity (87 .5%) andrnspecificity (65%) of the screening instrument (RQC) wasrnfound to be at 0/1, that is one yes answer to any ofrnten question s . The preval ence of the various mentalrndisorders using RQC at a cut off point (0/1) wererntherefore estimated . Out of 3001 children, 534 (17.7%)rnwere found to have mental disorder. Males (19.2%) andrnfemales (16.4%). Headache 332(11.1%) and Nervousnessrn123(4.1%) were the most frequently reported symptoms byrnmothers. After adjusting for potential confounders agernof children was found to be associated with mentalrndisorder and that this association was statistical lyrnsignificant. Maternal age, marital status and parentalrnpsychopathol ogy were also significantly associated withrnmental disorder of their children. The findings showrnthat mental disorders in children in this populationrnare as common as elsewhere in developed and developingrncountries . Mental health services in this and otherrncommunities need to be initiated as soon as possible.