IT project failure rates remain high despite the enormous amounts of money that have been invested in IT. Many researchers have studied this critical subject in order to identify IT project success factors, however, it is a challenge to get universal agreement on which factors are the key. This paper presents an exploratory study of the main factors that affect IT project success in Saudi Arabian public organizations from chief inf ormation officers’ (CIOs) perceptive. A qualitative approach using semi -structured interview method was used to collect and analyze the data. Interviews were conducted with CIOs to gather their opinions about the IT project success factors. The findings of the study proposed seventeen factors that may have effect on IT project success. Conflict of interest, knowledge management, rewards and recognition, top management stability and project management office (PMO) have been collected from the interviewees. Top management support and commitment, strategic planning, project management, process management, project team competency, IT infrastructure, change management, risk management, communication management, training and education, supplier management, stakeholder management have been collected from the literature and confirmed by the interviewees.