<p>The increasing demand for groundwater requires effective management and planning of these limited resources. Groundwater is widely used for domestic supply and agriculture in the Hotta River Catchment, Northwestern Ethiopia, despite a lack of pertinent studies. This led to development failure and a decline in borehole yields. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate and delineate the groundwater potential zones for sustainable management of water resources in the region. Integrated Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were applied to collude groundwater potential zones. Eight thematic layers, including lithology, geomorphology, slope, rainfall, lineament density, drainage density, land use/cover, and soil, were considered. A groundwater potential map was generated from these thematic layers using a weighted linear combination approach. Five groundwater potential zones were identified and subsequently mapped. Very high (75.8 km²), high (26.7 km²), moderate (108.5 km²), low (241.5 km²), and very low (236.1 km²) groundwater potential were identified. The model was validated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC-AUC) analysis of existing wells and springs, demonstrating good performance with an AUC value of 75.4%, indicating reliable identification of groundwater potential zones. A map removal type of sensitivity analysis assessed the influence of thematic layers. As a result, lithology is the most sensitive layer with a variation index of 2.9% and it is the most influential thematic layer for groundwater availability. Groundwater developers are beneficiaries of the findings of this study to select productive sites for groundwater exploration.</p>