The number of street people is reported to be increasing with time. To assess thernmagnitude of and the associated factors with streetism, and the socio-economic, healthrnand nutritional status of street elderly people, a cross sectional survey was conducted inrnAddis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in May 1998. A total of 2,064 street elderly peoplernwere counted during a one-day census. Of these 413 study subjects were enrolled in tornthe study by means of convenient sampling; 228 {55.2%} males and 185 {44.8%} femalesrnwere included. The mean Â± SD age of the study population was 70.9 Â± 9.2 years {rangern60-100 years} . Three hundred thirty four {80.9%} of the elderly people were single,rnfemales being more likely {OR=2.88; 95% CI=1.61-5.19}. Three hundred and seventyrnnine {91.8%} were migrants because of war, starvation, for medical reasons, looking forrnbetter job and to see relatives. The Majority did not belong to any social organization, 213rn{51.6%} had some role to play and 280 (67.8%) reported to be respected as an elderly.rnTwo hundred and sixty four {63.9%} felt lonely, and 280 {67.8%} felt hopeless. Twornhundred and eighty {67 .8%} reported to eat food only when available, 230 {55.7%} tornhave no extra clothes, 76 {18.4%} and 67 (16.2%) to never wash their clothes and theirrnbody, respectively. Two hundred and ninety (70.2%) of the respondents reported to bernsick during the study period; the most frequently reported health problems were of visionrn212 {51.3%}, mastication 176 {42.6%}, rh eumatism 153 {37.0%}, abdominal 145 {35.1 %}rnand joint 143 {34.6%} problems. Age was an important predictor for many of the reportedrnhealth problems. Out of 379 for whom data were available, 302 {79.8%} were found tornbe malnourished. Two hundred and twenty nine {55.4%} were willing to join any institutionrnproviding care for elderly people. One hundred twenty six {30 .5%} were "of" the streetrntype while the rest, 287 {69.5%}, were "on" the street type. The "of" the street ones werernmore likely to suffer from different conditions, such as lack of food and clothing,rnharassment, loneliness, hopelessness. The Focus Group Discussions (FGD) also revealedrnsimilar findings, moreover, there were elderly people who reported to be capable andrnwilling to work if they got suitable job. In conclusion, the street elderly people arernnumerous and have complex social, economic, health and nutritional problems which needrnurgent and mUlti-sectoral intervention.