Background: Studies have indicated that in the fight against administrative corruption, there is need to a collection of deep and genuine ethical values. The aim of present research is to determine relationship between employees’s adhering to ethical virtues with administrative corruption and designing a model.

Method: This study is a descriptive-correlation research. Study population consisted of employees in state agencies of Iran and 3021 subjects were selected as sample by using sampling two-stage cluster. Data gathering tool was questionnaires of employee’s adhere to ethical virtues and administrative corruption. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical (Z test, stepwise multiple regression and ranking test of Friedman).

Results: The results indicated that the suggested model is significant and there is a negative relationship between employee’s adhere to ethical virtues as work conscience, work morality, self-discipline and social responsibility with administrative corruption, and of among the virtues, work conscience has had the most negative relationship with administrative corruption and work morality and self-discipline and social responsibility are in next ranks. Also another finding of the research indicated that status of employee’s adhere to ethical virtues is not in good condition and of among the ethical virtues, work conscience has had the highest rank in study population and dimensions of self-discipline and social responsibility and work morality have been in next ranks.

Conclusion: There is a negative relationship between employee’s adhering to ethical virtues with administrative corruption, and status of employee’s adhering to ethical virtues is not in good condition. Therefore, state agencies need to strengthen the ethical virtues in employees to prevent administrative corruption.