BackgroundAnopheles stephensiis an emerging exotic invasive urban vector of malaria in East Africa. The World Health Organization recently announced an initiative to take concerted actions to limit this vector’s expansion by strengthening surveillance and control in invaded and potentially receptive territories in Africa. This study sought to determine the geographic distribution ofAn. stephensiin southern Ethiopia.MethodsA targeted entomological survey, both larvae and adult, was conducted in Hawassa city, Southern Ethiopia between November 2022 and February 2023.AnophelesLarvae were reared to adults for species identification. CDC light traps and BG Pro traps were used overnight both indoor and outdoor at selected houses to collect adult mosquitoes in the study area. Prokopack Aspirator was employed to sample indoor resting mosquitoes in the morning. Adults ofAn. stephensiwas identified using morphological keys, and then confirmed by PCR.ResultsLarvae ofAn. stephensiwere found in 28 (16.6%) of the 169 potential mosquito breeding sites surveyed. Out of 548 adult femaleAnophelesmosquitoes reared from larvae, 234 (42.7%) were identified to beAn. stephensimorphologically. A total of 449 female anophelines were caught, of which 53 (12.0%) wereAn. stephensi. Other anopheline species collected in the study area includedAn. gambiae(s.l.),An. pharoensis,An. coustani, andAn. demeilloni.ConclusionThe study, for the first time, confirmed the presence ofAn. stephensiin southern Ethiopia. The presence of both larval and adult stages of this mosquito attest that this species established a sympatric colonization with native vector species such asAn. gambiae(s.l.) in Southern Ethiopia. The findings warrant further investigation on the ecology, behavior, population genetics, and role ofAn. stephensiin malaria transmission in Ethiopia.