Female household heads are common all round the world. Theirrnnumber is also increasing. Above all they are a severely disadvantaged grouprnof society both socially and economically. The urban female household heads,rnin particular, are the most vulnerable group of the society to most of the urbanrnproblems. This study, therefore, aims at assessing the socio-economic andrnsurvival mechanisms of urban female household heads.rnThe town of Holota Genet is the study area. The data used in the studyrnwas gathered through a questionnaire survey by considering 122 femalernhousehold heads. About 64 percent of the respondents were widows and 26rnpercent were divorcees. The rest (10%) became household heads because ofrnother reasons.rnAll of the respondents were engaged in the informal sector at the timernof the survey. As a common feature of this sector, the income of thernrespondents was relatively very low. Most of the respondents reported thatrnthey have decreased their level of participation in traditional savings such asrnIdir and Iqub because of their financial constraints.rnThe divorcees were more likely to engage in prostitution than thernwidowed. The widows, on the other hand, were more likely to own theirrndwelling units than the divorcees.rnThe female household heads use various survival mechanisms. Somernof them send their children to work in order to generate income. Some othersrnhave given their children to adoptive parents and relatives. Remarriage,rngeographic mobility, sale of assets, diversification of items of sale, borrowingrnof money and cohabitation with male partners are also commonly observedrnamong the female household heads.rnAmong the identified survival mechanisms, borrowing money wasrnreported by almost all of the respondents. Change of residence, change ofrnoccupation and giving away children to adoptive parent followed it inrnimportance.