The focus of this study was to explore the teachers' beliefs and practices of vocabulary teaching techniques in EFL classrooms at General Secondary Schools in Bahir Dar City. The study aimed to survey the types of vocabulary teaching techniques EFL teachers use and to find out the similarities and difference of teachers' beliefs and their actual practices in the EFL class rooms. It also attempted to investigate the challenges that teachers' faced in employing vocabulary teaching techniques in the EFL classroom instruction. To do this, from the eight general secondary schools of Bahir Dar city four grade 9 general secondary schools were selected using probable sampling design through simple random sampling of a lottery system. From these sample schools all the eighteen grade 9 EFL teachers were taken as the sample of the study using comprehensive sampling techniques. Then, the sample teachers were engaged for questionnaire administration. However, in order to gather data through classroom observation and interview taking the 18 sample of EFL teachers was unmanageable. Therefore, out of those four sample general secondary schools eight grade 9 EFL teachers were chosen using proportional sampling techn'1es to make their members being elected according to t~e amount of teachers they held. In order to gather qualitative and quantitative data, interview, ·observation, questionnatre and document analysis instruments were utilized. Then, the data obtained from the interview was analysed by categorizing common responses which, after wards, were written in the form of descriptive text. In addition to analyse the data collected through observation, frequencies were changed in to percentages. And then, the data obtained from questionnaires was analysed by Pearson's coefficient relation and by the t-test. As a result, the study found out that there was a mismatch between what the teachers said that they do and what they actually did in the EFL classrooms. The findings also showed that teachers did not plan and design various vocabulary teaching techniques to teach vocabulary: they usually taught vocabulary using translation, context, board work and definitions techniques. They did not use visual aids, drilling, semantic map, pictures and flash cards in the EFL classrooms. Furthermore, lack of teachers' knowledge of some vocabulary teaching techniques, large class-size, teachers' commitment to plan or design the techniques and inadequate supplies of materials and photo copy services from the school were factors affecting to employ various vocabulary,teaching techniques. Finally, based on the findings the following suggestions and recommendations were forwarded: teachers should practice various vocabulary teaching techniques while they are teaching vocabulary; they have · to design and plan various vocabulary teaching techniques by their own and schools should have accountabilities to~de the necessary materials and photo copy services for implementing various vocabulary teaching techniques. vii