Background- One of the common features in which the problems of children under difficultrncircumstances manifest is the problem of â€œstreetismâ€. There are an estimated 100 millionrnstreet children worldwide, 150,000 in Ethiopia and 1,326 in Adama.rnObjective- To assess survival strategies of street children and their exposure to HIV/AIDSrnrelated risk factors in Adama town.rnMethods- A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in Adama town. Both qualitativernand quantitative study methods were used and interview using structured questionnaire andrnfour FGDs were used to collect data. The study subjects for the quantitative study werernselected by simple random sampling method after registering the street children. FGDrnparticipants were selected by using snowball technique.rnResult- A total of 998 street children aged above seven and less than eighteen completedrnyears were registered and 441 have participated in the study. 77.1% of the respondents werernmales. Street children are engaged in different activities like petty trade, begging, theft, dailyrnlabor and commercial sex work to earn money. 86.5% of the study participants earn less thanrn10 ETH birr per day and the mean average daily income of study subjects is 1.19 ETH birr.rnStreet children have admitted that they use alcohol and other substances like chat, cigarette,rnglue, benzene, shisha, hashish, atsefaris (cannabis), ganija, mixture of local leaves likern"shewishewe" and "tikure", orange rind, and tea. 32.2% of the respondents are sexually active.rn53.3% had their first sexual experience between the age of 10 and 14. 89.5% of respondentsrnhave heard of HIV/AIDS and 30.7% of the respondents consider themselves as having risk ofrnbeing infected with HIV. 3.5% of respondents have had sexually transmitted diseases in theirrnpast history. It was also identified that there are males who are having sex with males and alsornstreet boys make sex with a single girl being in-group.rnvirnConclusion- The majorities of street children are living by their own being engagedrnin different activities. Because of luck of adult supervision and harsh environmentalrncondition risky and unhealthy practices like substance use, early sex, violence andrnhaving multiple sexual partners are common. More should be done on child rights atrnall levels to protect children from joining streets and those who are on the streetrnshould be supported financially to decrease their vulnerability. Legislative actionsrnshould also be taken on drug traffickers.