In many parts of the world, including Zambia, the health risks of unsafe sexual and reproductive behaviour among young people aged 15-24 years are receiving growing attention. This is largely because they are at a stage when sexual and reproductive activity, including risky sexual behaviour, is likely to begin, meaning that they are an important target group in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and the development of family planning programmes.Based on the 2005 Zambia Sexual Behaviour Survey, this article seeks to provide the level and determinants of condom use at first sex among young people in Zambia. Logistic regression models, separated for young men (N = 1,205) and young women (N = 1,608), using STATA 11 were used for the analysis of the determinants of condom use at first sex. The study establishes that condom use at first sex differ by cohort, gender, urban/rural residence, marital status, educational attainment, and province of residence. It further provides evidence that marital status, education attainment, province of residence and socioeconomic status are the strongest predictors of condom use at first sex among young people in Zambia. It is therefore recommended that the promotion of condom use at first sex among young people should be prioritised as an indispensable intervention aimed at reducing premarital sex and teenage pregnancy, and tackling their increased vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.