Background: Inadequate minimum acceptable diet is the cause for poor physical and mental development and has more burden among infants and young children aged between 6 and 23 months. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to determine the factors of inadequate minimum acceptable diet among infants and young children in Ethiopian administrative zones. Method: The 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (EMDHS) dataset with 1,463 weighted samples of children aged 6-23 months was used. Data management were done using STATA version 17 software, R version 4.2.2 and ArcMap version 10.8 software was used for mapping and spatial regression analysis. To investigate the determinants, we used both multilevel and spatial analysis. Results: The magnitude of inadequate MAD intake among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia was 88.7%. The spatial distribution of intake of inadequate MAD was non-random with Global Moran’s I = 0.1336. Hot spot areas were observed in Bar Dar Special Zone, West Gojam, South Gonder, North Wollo and South Wollo. Based on AIC, and BIC, a binary multilevel model with spatial effect and spatial Durbin error model (SDEM) was preferred. Mothers with primary (OR=0.597), secondary (OR=0.369) and higher (OR=0.281) educational level had lower odds to feed their children with inadequate MAD compared with no formal education. household wealth status, marital status, number of families, Age of child, postnatal check, between 1 and 3 ANC visits, community-level education, living in rural residences, spatial auto-covariate and number of people under the age of 5 were significantly associated with inadequate minimum acceptable diet. Conclusions: There is a high magnitude of inadequate MAD intake among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia. Based on the result of selected model, Mother’s educational, household wealth, marital status, number of families, Age of child, postnatal check, community-level education, living in rural residences, spatial auto-covariate and number of people under the age of 5 were significant factors of inadequate MAD. The findings highlight that to increase the MAD intake in Ethiopia, policy makers and other stakeholders need to give prior attention to enhancing household wealth status and enhance the accessibility of education. Keywords: minimum acceptable diet, dietary diversity, spatial analysis, multilevel analysis