Access to land for housing development in urban areas is becoming increasingly difficult in many developing countries including states in Sub-Saharan African countries. Ethiopia can never be an exception hare given the presence of a high shortage of residential housing, including in Bahir Dar City. This study was carried out to assess the policy and practice of urban land access for residential housing development in Bahir Dar City by taking evidence from Atse Tewodros Sub City. The study applied descriptive research design to describe and analyze the current state of urban land access policy and practice in the City. The research has also employed a mixed-method research approach for gathering comprehensive information relevant to the research. Both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were employed. Hence,164 sample populations were selected using stratified sampling and simple random sampling techniques. Quantitative data which were gathered from the survey questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data that were collected from key informant interviews and focus group discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that the shortage of urban residential land for housing development is affecting the right to housing of the residents. Few of the residents are accessing land for residential purposes fundamentally through competitive tender, allotment, and purchase from third parties informall whether they get land through lease or through old possession. This situation makes many landless urban dwellers live informally. Therefore, the study suggests to develop an up-dated contemporary lease policy, pro-poor urban land policy, implementation of an urban housing policy that addresses the housing rights of the community, provide opportunities for relevant stakeholders to play their role in reducing residential housing shortage and informal settlements, create an alternative opportunity to low-income communities to engage to get residential housing and developing an up-dated and technological land delivery system.