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This study investigated the effect of mother tongue (Igbo) on academic achievement of lower universal basic education (UBE) pupils in basic science. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted quasi-experimental; specifically, the pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group design. The population for the study comprised 160 lower basic five (5) pupils in Nwangele L.G.A Orlu, Imo state. Simple random sampling technique of lucky dip with replacement was used to draw the sample for the study. The instrument, Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) was used for data collection. The reliability of BSAT using Kuder Richardson formula 20(KR20) was 0.74. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the findings revealed that there was significant effect of mother tongue on the achievement of pupils taught basic science using mother tongue because pupils who were taught with mother tongue performed better than those taught with English language. Also, that gender was not a significant factor in pupils’ achievement. Based on the findings of this study, some recommendations were made which includes adopting the language policy provision on the use of mother tongue for instruction in the lower basic levels of education as well as for Parents to endeavor to speak and encourage their children to speak and study in their mother tongue.