[1] The country's participation in Tokyo marked its fourteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1956, having missed three occasions due to joining the African (1976), Soviet (1984), and North Korean (1988) boycotts.

Ethiopia left Tokyo with a total of four medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), a decrease from its previous overall tally at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and its lowest medal count since 1996.

Ethiopian athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event):[2][3] Ethiopia entered one rider to compete in the women's Olympic road race, by securing an outright berth, as the highest-ranked cyclist, not yet qualified, at the 2019 African Championships in Addis Ababa.

[4] Ethiopia received a universality invitation from FINA to send a top-ranked male swimmer in his respective individual events to the Olympics, based on the FINA Points System of June 28, 2021.

Solomon Demse secured a spot in the men's flyweight category (58 kg) with a top two finish at the 2020 African Qualification Tournament in Rabat, Morocco.