Regardless of the widely usage of kaolin for the synthesis of zeolite A in different conditions, no attempt has been made to date to produce zeolite A from Ethiopian natural kaolin. The report by U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook describes large kaolin deposits in Ethiopia; however, its exploitation is limited to an annual production of about 3300 metric tons, mainly consumed by domestic ceramic factories [13]. Apart from this use, Ethiopian kaolin has not been evaluated for other applications such as the synthesis of zeolite A. In this work, full characterization of Ethiopian raw kaolin from Ansho deposit is presented along with a potential mechanical purification. Furthermore, zeolite A was hydrothermally synthesized from both, raw and mechanically purified Ethiopian kaolin under different synthesis conditions. The cation exchange capacity, particle size and morphology have been studied in detail in order to evaluate the potential of this zeolite A for detergent formulation.