There was immense potential for producing malt barley in Ethiopia. However, its production is limited due to multiple constraints, such as poor soil fertility, low pH and inappropriate seeding rate. Hence, an experiment was conducted to examine the effect of seeding and nitrogen rates on productivity and quality of malt barley. A malt barley variety IBON-174/03 was used as test crop. Four rates of seeding (75, 100, 125, and 150 kg ha-1) and four levels of N (46, 69, 92 and 115 kg ha-1) in the form of urea were used as experimental treatments. The recommended rate of phosphorous (46 kg P2O5 ha – 1) was used for all treatments at planting. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Statistical analyses of data showed that most of the parameters were significantly affected by the main effect of seeding and nitrogen rates. Date of physiological maturity, grain yield and harvest index were significantly (P < 0.001) affected by main effects of seeding and Nitrogen rates and their interaction. The maximum grain yield (3.84 t ha-1) was obtained from the interaction of 125 kg ha-1 seeding rate and the application of 115 kg N ha-1. With respect to malt quality parameters, the optimum total protein (10.97%) was obtained at the fertilizer rate of 115 kg N ha-1. The results of the partial budget analysis revealed that seeding rate of 125 kg ha-1and application of 115 kg ha-1 N fertilizer rate resulted maximum marginal rate of return and are economically profitable with a net benefit of 51,742.75 birr ha-1 compared to other treatments. The protein content of grain yield from this combination was within acceptable range for brewing purpose. Thus, the seeding rates of 125 kg ha-1 and application of 115kg N ha-1 can be recommended for the farmers in the study area and areas with similar agro-ecological conditions. However, as the study was for one season, such research has to be repeated over several seasons and locations to give a conclusive recommendation. Key words: Malt barley, nitrogen, seeding rate, total protein