Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and employee learning orientation in organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a quantitative methodology to analyze data collected from 160 faculty members from universities, using a survey questionnaire. Findings The finding of this study reveals that ethical leadership has a positive effect on learning orientation of faculty members in universities. Originality/value This study adds to the field of ethical leadership by investigating the influence of ethical leadership on learning orientation of faculty members in universities.