Rice is the most important staple food crop for more than half of the world’s population. In present study the level of selected toxic elements (Pb, Cd) and essential elements (Zn, Cu) in rice samples were collected from Rib kebele, Woreta town, South Gondar, Ethiopia. The concentration of essential elements (Zn, Cu) and toxic elements (Pb, Cu) in rice were determined by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) following the conventional wet-acid digestion on hot plate. The concentration of Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb were observed and analyzed from rice samples.Zn was the values of 16.4±0.00018 mg/Kg. The concentration of Pbdetermined in the present work is 3.95 ±0.00047 mg/Kg which is the highest among all other trace metals determined. The reason for concentration difference of lead in rice is may be the fact that the place is leveled highly eroded by flood, fertilizer and vehicle. The results were compared with the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) which is set by JECFA. Pb and Cd, toxic metals were above the limit and the Zn and Cu below the limit. Keywords: -Toxic metals, essential metals, Rice, ICP-OES,wet-acid digestion