Written and composed by Johntá Austin, Jazze Pha, Donnie Scantz, and Kevin Hicks, it appears on both the Next Friday (1999) and Romeo Must Die (2000) soundtracks.

"I Don't Wanna" was written and composed by Jazze Pha, Johntá Austin, Donnie Scantz and Kevin Hicks, with the latter producing the song.

"[1] During the meeting, Noontime Music associates presented several songs to the label, including "Miss You" and "I Don't Wanna", which Scantz put together "before the NYC Trip".

[5] While speaking with Billboard Blackground Records VP Jomo Hankerson mentioned that "I Don't Wanna" was cross-promoted on two movie soundtracks intentionally.

Declaring her unwillingness to live without her man, she croons the words of the song, alternating between a breathless daddy's-girl naïveté and the throaty vibrato of a grown woman's heartache".

According to Scott, "I Don't Wanna" was "a sullen record that would have fit perfectly on One in a Million, thanks to its somber keys, halted delivery, and abrasive honesty."

[13] HotNewHipHop writer Keenan Higgins considers "I Don’t Wanna" to be Aaliyah's most overlooked song and that it fits in her discography "in a weird way".

[9] While reviewing Romeo Must Die: The Album, Christopher O'Conner from MTV News said that on "Are You Feelin' Me" and "I Don't Wanna" Aaliyah makes the tracks "sizzle".

[14] Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters praised the song, saying it showcases "an ode to rekindling love, often in a near-double time delivery", while comparing it to Usher's "Confessions Part II" (2004) and Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" (2005).