Abstract: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of the big five personality traits on ethical leadership using selected public basic schools within the Ayawaso district in Ghana. A total of 180 respondents consisting of leaders and subordinates were conveniently selected for the study. The leaders responded to a questionnaire concerning their personality traits whiles subordinates rated the ethical behavior of their leaders. Data collected was analyzed mainly using hierarchical regression analysis and independent sample t-test. Results indicated that, personality traits such as conscientiousness and extraversion had a positive effect on ethical leadership behavior after controlling for all other variables. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that leader conscientiousness accounts for the most variance in ethical leadership behavior. Also, there was no significant difference in ethical leadership behavior due to gender of leaders. A summary of the overall findings of the study are discussed as well as future directions for further study.