ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to assess the utilization of an insecticide-treated bed net on the preceding night and associated factors among households of Kola Diba town in 2017.ResultsOf the 260 households, 239 (91.9%) (95% CI = 88.5–95%) utilized insecticide-treated bed net on the night preceding the interview. 242 (93.1%) households didn’t treat the bed net whereas 18 (6.9%) treat the bed net by chemical regularly. Household structure and knowledge about malaria transmission were found to be associated with insecticide-treated bed net utilization.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3697-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.