Soil erosion by water is one of the major threats to soils in the Northwestern Ethiopian highlands. Soil erosion not only decreases agricultural productivity, but also reduces the water availability. The objectives of this study were estimating the risk of soil erosion by RUSLE utilizing remote sensing and GIS techniques in the Fakisi watershed, Amhara Region, Northwestern Ethiopia. On the base of modified methods and parameters for Ethiopian highland conditions, the RUSLE model was used to evaluate and map the extent of soil erosion and to estimate the potential annual soil loss. In order to build the model parameter and estimate the rate of annual soil loss, digital elevation model (DEM), rainfall data, Landsat image, and digital soil map were used. Parameters of the model were determined and converted into raster layers using the raster calculator tool in Arc Map to produce a soil erosion map. According to the study findings, 9686.6 hectares of land might potentially lose 339,031 tons of soil in the year 2021 annually and a mean of 35 t ha - 1 yr -1 . The watershed is divided into six categories of soil erosion severity classes based on the rate of soil erosion. Severe to extremely severe erosion (58% total soil loss) affected 1443.4 ha or14.9% of the watersheds total area, whereas high to very high erosion risk class (30.7% total soil loss) affected 2629.1 ha or 27.1% and low to moderate erosion risk class (11.3% total soil loss) affected 5614.1 ha or 58% of the watershed. The mean annual sediment yield of the watershed estimated was 27.2 t ha -1 yr -1 . The SDR of the watershed ranged between 0.17 and 0.43. The spatial distribution of SDR showed that the highest value was recorded on the highest stream channel slopes and the lowest values in the lowest stream channel slope areas. For future intervention and SWC measures, critical watersheds were identified and prioritized based on their mean annual soil loss. Based on the results, it is recommended that when intense and well planned integrated management interventions for soil conservation are implemented, emphasis should be given to the study area with the highest rate of erosion under the severity classe