The exact number of street children in any givenrncountry is not known. To determine the number, health,rnand social problems of the street children, a crossrnsectional survey was conducted in Nazareth town, southrneastern Ethiopia, from November to December 1994.rnAccordingly 5138 street children were counted during arnone day census , by means of a systematic sampling. 597rnsubjects were selected into the study, 526(88.1%) Malesrnand 71(11.9%) Females. The age ranged from 5 to 18 withrnmean age of 12.9 and SD of 3. 16. (41.2%) of the childrenrnleft their families when they were 10-14 years old, andrn30 . 7% were separated in early childhood (0-4 years).rnOnl y (1 8 . 3%) were attending school currently, (54.6%)rnwere children "on" the street and t he rest (45 . 4%) werern"of" the street children, (67.2%) of the children eat atrnleast twice daily, (14. 6%) of the children reported thernuse of at least one of the substances like Alcohol,rncigarette, and chat. (61.6%) of the children reported anrnillness during the survey. The major health complaintsrnwere abdominal pain, cough and chest pain, eye and earrnproblems, headache and leg ulcer . This survey indicatedrnthat substance use, police arrest, sexual intercourse andrnSTDs were reported more frequently among the "of " thernstreet chi ldren . In conclusion, the street children haverncomplex social and health problems which need to bernaddressed utilizing a multisectoral approach