Background: Street youth are exposed to situations that make them vulnerable to sexual andrnreproductive health problems. The majority of street children are living in conditions of severerndeprivation, which place them at all kinds of health risks. Street youth have risky sexualrnbehaviors that increase the likelihood of adverse sexual and reproductive health consequences.rnObjectives and methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among 343 street youth withrnfocus group discussions to assess reproductive health behavior and needs of street youth inrnDessie Town. The total number of street youth in the town was determined to be 1900 afterrnconducting census for two days. The study subjects were identified by using systematic samplingrnfrom the sampling frame. Data was collected using structured questionnaire, entered andrnanalyzed using EPI info and SPSS statistical program respectively.rnResults: Majority, 67.9%, of the respondents had started sexual intercourse with the mean age ofrn15.2 years. Ever having sex was associated with being male, income of 5-10 birr and greater thanrn10 birr per day, more than one year on the street, former residence being rural areas, alcoholrndrinking and khat chewing. 80.6% of the respondents have more than one sexual partners and thernmean lifetime number of sexual partners was 4.85. Among sexually active street youth, 63.9 %rnhad ever used modern contraceptives and it was associated with type of street life, sex, maritalrnstatus, secondary education and alcohol drinking. Consistent use of condoms was found to bernlow, 22.8%. Living with peers and alone, former residence being rural areas, more than one yearrnon the street and number of sexual partners above one were found to be associated withrnconsistent use of condoms. It is important to mention that the level of awareness aboutrncontraception, HIV/AIDS and other STIs was considerably high; nevertheless, most of them arernfound to be involved in risky sexual behaviors and the great majority of them consideredrnthemselves at low risk for HIV.rnConclusion: It was concluded that despite the majority of street youth had adequate knowledgernof selected reproductive health issues, most street youth engage in high risk sexual practices.rnThis fact calls for a coordinated and comprehensive effort by responsible organizations tornmobilize peer based interventions to bring behavioral change in reducing risky sexual practices.