A community-based retrospective maternal mortality study using the Sisterhood method was conducted in Gulu district between February and March 1996. The objectives were to estimate the magnitude of and identify factors associated with maternal mortality in the district. A total of 5522 adult respondents, randomly selected from 27 parishes, of the five counties in the district were interviewed. Between 1960-1996 324 maternal deaths occurred in the sisterhood sample. The maternal mortality rate (MMR) was estimated to be 662 per 100,000 deliveries [95% confidence interval (CI) 421-839 per 100 deliveries]. The leading causes of maternal death were: haemorrhage 45.1%; obstructed labour 26.2%; puerperal sepsis 9.6%; anaemia 2.2%; AIDS 2.2%; and gunshot wounds (GSW) 1.0%. Factors associated with maternal mortality included: age--31.8% of the mothers who died were below 20 years; education--57.1% had no formal education; 65% of the mothers had delivered at home, 50.6% had been attended to by untrained traditional birth attendants (TBAs), while 37.8% were attended to by relatives. The MMR was found to be 1.3 times higher than the estimated national MMR of 500 per 100,000 deliveries. Most maternal deaths (80.9%) were due to preventable causes, being related to low socioeconomic status and low-level education of women in the district. The intractable civil war in the district was a major underlying and contributory factor to the high maternal mortality in the area. A multifaceted approach to reduce maternal mortality in the district should target improving the socioeconomic conditions in the district with special emphasis on encouraging and supporting female education. Intensive education on maternal healthcare in antenatal clinics be conducted targeting husbands/spouses and relatives who care for the prenatal/pregnant and postnatal mothers. There is need for more trained TBAs per village who should be given effective support supervision. Ambulance transport services, motor and bicycle be made available at the district and community levels. At a national level the security situation should be improved in the district.