Although the feed is a major problem for aquaculture development, studies on evaluation of the locally available protein sources as partial replacement of fishmeal are limited. This study was conducted to evaluate Sesbania sesban leaf meal as partial replacement of fishmeal for O. niloticus juveniles. Five experimental diets were prepared and had corn, fish meal, vitamins, minerals, and vegetable oil as basal feed ingredients. Diet 1 (control, D-1) contained fish meal with 0% of S. sesban, while dites 2 (D-2), 3 (D-3), 4 (D-), and 5 (D-5) contained 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of S. sesban, respectively. All diets were iso-nitrogenous (30% crude protein).A total of 225 O. niloticus juveniles were collected and acclimatized for a week. A group of fifteen fish having an average body weight of 8.72±0.09gwere randomly distributed into 15 indoor aquariums in triplicates. Throughout the experiment period (70 days), the fish were fed twice a day at the rate of 4% of their body weight in total. Feed and total bulk weight data were collected fortnightly, while water quality parameters and mortality were collected twice a week and daily, respectively. A descriptive analysis was employed to determine the frequency, percentage and mean of fish mortality and feed conversion ratio. One way ANOVA was used to compare the growth performance among treatments. The growth of the O. niloticus juvenile that fed on different experimental diets showed a significant difference (F=30.5, df, =4,112 P=0.00). The highest growth was observed on the fish fed on D-1 followed by the fish fedon D-2. However, D-3, D-4, and D-5 with higher inclusion levels of S. sesban leave mealsignificantly depressed the growth performance of the fish. Feed conversion ratio and the mean specific growth rate were positive for the fish fed on D-1 and D-2, whereas this was negative in D-3, D-4, and D-5. The lower growth performance and feed conversion ratio observed on the fish fed on a diet with high inclusion levels of S. sesban might be due to high dietary fiber levels together with the presence of relatively higher anti-nutritional factors. Although all the evaluated experimental diets were not potential fish feed, fish growth performance and feed conversion ratio of the O. niloticus juveniles fed on D-2 was relatively comparable to the D-1. Moreover, the survival rate was high when the inclusion levels of S. sesban decrease which means fish mortality was increased when the inclusion level of S. sesban leaf meal increases. Therefore, further study should be conducted to evaluate the potential of S. sesban at ≤20% inclusion level and at control water quality parameters. Keywords: Fish meal, Growth, Oreochromis niloticus, Sesbania sesban, Survival vii ABBREVIATION/ACRONYM ANF Anti Nutritional Factors ASA BDU African Sustainable Agriculture Bahir dar university CF Crude Fiber CP Crude Protein CRD Completely Randomized Design DM Dry Matter DO Dissolved Oxygen DFR Daily Feed Ration EAAs Essential Amino Acids EFA Essential Fatty Acids FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FM Fish Meal IUCEA Inter-University Council of East Africa LCPUFA Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids LM Leaf meal NCPF Non-Conventional Plant Feed NDF NRC Natural Detergent Fiber National research council SBM Soya Bean Meal SE SGR Standard Error Specific growth rate USAID United