Introduction: Vitamin A is an essential element that supports rapid growth, builds the immune system, and prevents infection. In impoverished countries like Ethiopia, however, consumption of vitamin A-rich foods is a major problem. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the spatial distributions and determinants of poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A among children aged 6–23 months in Ethiopia. Methods Data were obtained from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2019. Spatial autocorrelation was done to test whether the poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A had spatial dependency or not. Spatial SAT scan analysis and Hotspot (Getis Ord Gi*) were used to detect spatial clustering of poor consumption. A multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with poor consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. An adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was calculated, and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were declared to be significant predictors of poor consumption of vitamin A-rich foods. Result The analysis looked at 1,605 children aged 6 to 23 months. In Ethiopia, poor consumption of vitamin A-rich foods was found to be prevalent in 61.2% of the population, with significant spatial variation. Spatial clustering of poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A was observed in the Amhara, Somali, and Afar regions. At the individual level, the odds of poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A among children aged 12–17 and 18–23 months were 0.57 (95%CI (0.39, 0.84)) and 0.39 (95%CI (0.26, 0.58)) respectively. At the community level, the odds of poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A in Afar, Amhara and Somali were 6.07 (95%CI (2.59, 14.23)), 2.27 (95% CI (1.16, 4.44)) and 57.39 (95%CI (11.76, 279.90)) respectively. Conclusion In Ethiopia, poor consumption of vitamin A-rich foods among children aged 6 to 23 months varied significantly by region, with the highest prevalence found in the Amhara, Somali, and Afar regions. Child age, media exposure, maternal education, and regions were the significant predictors of poor consumption of foods rich in vitamin A. Through improving maternal education and creating awareness through mass media, interventions are targeted to improve the consumption of foods rich in vitamin A.