This study investigates whether monitoring and positive parenting moderate the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and youth substance use. Analyses utilized a subsample (N = 2197) of a cross-sectional, ethnically diverse, urban school district sample. Dependent variables were any past year alcohol or drug use (AOD) and binge drinking. Independent variables were CVE, perceptions of parental monitoring, and positive parenting. Sixty-four percent of the sample witnessed beatings, 16.5% witnessed stabbings or shootings; 45% and 19.5% reported AOD consumption and binge drinking, respectively. After controlling for confounders, logistic regression models indicated that CVE was significantly and positively related to AOD and binge drinking. Parental monitoring was inversely related to AOD and binge drinking. Significant interactions between CVE and parenting variables were not found. Additional research is needed to identify factors at multiple levels of the social ecology that buffer the impact of community violence on adolescent substance use. (Contains 4 tables.)