Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. It can be detected at an early stage through breast self-examination as it is the main tool for early detection of breast cancer in developing countries because of its simplicity, applicability and cost effectiveness. The objective of the study was to assess the level of Knowledge and Practice of breast self-examination among female college students in Eritrea. Across sectional study was conducted from January to March 2016 in all colleges of Eritrea. The students were divided into two practical strata as health science and non-health science students. From the strata, 380 participants were selected using systematic random sampling based on probability proportionate to size. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data was analyzed using SPSS statistical package version 20.0. This study found that only 30.1% of the students had knowledge about breast self-examination and 11.7% practiced breast self examination (BSE). The three main reasons for not practicing were lack of knowledge on how to perform BSE (34%), the belief that there is no problem with their breast (26.4%) and they didn't think they should be examined (12.8%). Media (52.1%) and Health worker (18.3%) were the main sources of information on BSE. In conclusion, the knowledge and practice level of BSE was found to be low. Therefore, an intensive health education program should be implemented mainly through mass media and at health care facilities.
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