Background. Adolescents and young adults engage in risky sexual behaviours that may expose them to risk of contracting sexual transmitted diseases. The aim of this study was to assess risky sexual practices and associated factors for HIV/AIDS infection. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in March 2012 among 790 college students. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were analyzed using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses with SPSS version 16 software package. Results. About 40.6% of sexually active respondents had risky sexual behaviours. Multiple sexual partners and unprotected sex were reported by 45.3% and 38.4% of sexually active respondents. Having multiple sexual partners was associated with alcohol use (AOR = 3.20; 95% CI: 2.02–5.08) and having a close friend who started sex (AOR = 5.99; 95% CI: 3.66–9.81). Unprotected sex was associated with marital status (AOR = 2.68; 95% CI: 1.55–4.64), alcohol intake (AOR = 2.19; 95% CI: 1.36–3.54), and frequency of visiting night clubs (AOR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.12–0.52) for those who visit occasionally and (AOR = 0.45; 95% CI: (0.21–0.97) for those who visited at least once a week. Conclusion. Large proportions of students engaged in risky sexual behaviours and various risk factors were associated with risky sexual behaviours. Therefore, interventions targeting on alcohol intake, peer pressure, and attending night clubs are recommended. 1. Background Today’s adolescent and young adults constitute the largest cohort ever to enter the transition to adulthood. Evidence showed that nearly half of the global population was less than 25 years old and nearly 90% live in developing countries [1]. Adolescents and young adults have an increased interest in the opposite sex, highly concerned with physical and sexual attractiveness, and are frequently changing relationships. Besides, they are risk takers who are more likely to make decisions about the future without adequately considering the consequences [2]. It was declared that only less than half of all sexually active youth report using condoms, even where prevalence of human immune deficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) was high [3]. Studying the sexual behavior of youth is important because when compared to older adults, youth are at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases [2]. Young people were at the heart of HIV/AIDS pandemic; globally in 2010, out of estimated 2.7 million people newly infected with the virus 41% were young people [4]. In Ethiopia according to antenatal care sentinel surveillance (ANC), the
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