The characterization and classification of cement is based on the determination of its chemical composition. Therefore, the major purpose of this study was to determine chemical properties of five different brands of cement (Habesha, Deriba, East, Mossebo and Danegotie) in Ethiopia using standard methods such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and British Standards Institution (BSI) . The results of the analysis indicated that Free CaO, SiO 2 , LOI andFe 2 O 3 in all samples are within the acceptable limits. Even though the IR and SO 3 results for East, Deriba and Habesha are inside the recommended limit, the two cement samples from Mossebo and Danegotie showed results above the recommended limit. The results revealed there are significant differences in chemical analysis of some cements. The concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Cr, Ni and Zn) in the Portland cement were analyzed using ICP OES. The results of heavy metals in cement showed different trained Cr> Zn> Ni >Cu, Ni > Cr >Zn>Cu, Cr > Ni>Zn >Cu, Cr > Ni > Cu>Zn and Cr> Ni > Cu >Zn for Habesha, East, Danegotie, Deriba and Mossebo respectively. Even though cadmium was not detected in all samples, high concentration of Cr and Ni was observed in Mossebo and Deriba sample. In addition the statistical analysis revealed that except Zn all measured metals showed a significance difference. Key words Cement, Clinker, Hazardous wastes, Heavy metal