Uganda hosts an estimated 34,200 urban refugees who are living within the peri-urban areas among nationals in Kampala city. The study assessed factors that affect access to health services by the urban refugees and host communities. A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2011 and June 2012 employing qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection. Using structured questionnaires and guides, 944 heads of households interviews who were randomly selected using cluster sampling, 6 key informant interviews and 2 focus group discussions were conducted. SPSS, STATA and manifest-content analysis was used for analysis. The factors found to promote access to health services for refugees and host communities were availability of health facilities, (91.2%, 229/246) for refugees compared to (97.8%, 220/224) for nationals (OR = 2.61; 95%CI 1.36-5.03; p