This study was undertaken to define blood pressure pattern in a sample of schoolchildren in an Ethiopian rural community. All schoolchildren below the age of 15 years in Butajira town formed the study population. Blood pressure measurement which was made according to the recommendations of the American Task Force on blood pressure control in children was found to be unimodal with almost symmetrical distribution. The mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure for both sexes combined was 106 +/- 14.8 and 70.5 +/- 4.5 mmHg, respectively. The mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressures increased with age in both boys (P < 0.05) and girls (P < 0.01). Girls had significantly higher mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressures than boys (P < 0.001). Similarly, girls had significantly higher pulse rate and arm-girth than boys which may partly explain the higher mean pressures in the girls. A multiple regression analysis showed that height, body mass index, arm-girth, and heart rate were significant in explaining the variations in systolic and diastolic blood pressures. In conclusion, except for the higher blood pressure in girls, our findings are similar to the majority of the reports from Africa and other parts of the world.