Abstract This study was aimed to assess the concentration of metals (Hg, Cr, Zn Cd and Pb) in water, sediment, and S. corymbosus macrophyte plant samples collected from six different sites (S1 to S6) of Lake Hawassa. The results revealed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) in metals concentration among different sampling sites as well as within the site. Generally, significantly higher values (p<0.05) of metals concentration were recorded at sites S2, S4 and S5, which received industrial effluents, urban wastes and agrochemicals respectively. and were the most contaminated sites. The concentration of metals both in sediment and macrophyte plant followed similar pattern, viz., Zn>Cr>Pb>Cd>Hg, while the concentration of metals in water followed the order of Zn>Pb>Cr>Cd>Hg. High to very high correlations were recorded within some metal pairs and with some physico-chemical parameters. - Although metals concentration in water and sediment of th