UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the announcement "as a positive step towards alleviating the suffering of civilians... and creating an environment conducive to achieving lasting peace", spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
At least 47 people were killed and more than a million displaced in three weeks of fighting with artillery, tanks, drones and jets, according to official tallies.
The conflict spread to nearly every border province on both sides, shattering an earlier truce for which US President Donald Trump took credit.
Cambodia and Thailand agreed to the ceasefire that took effect at 12 pm (0500 GMT), said the declaration signed by the Southeast Asian neighbours' defence ministers at a border checkpoint on the Thai side.
The truce applies to "all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side, in all cases and all areas".
Both sides agreed to freeze all troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, the statement said.
They also agreed to cooperate on demining efforts and combatting cybercrime, while Thailand was to return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers within 72 hours.
Thai Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit said the initial three-day window would be an "observation period to confirm that the ceasefire is real".
He called the truce "a door to a peaceful resolution" in a speech earlier on Saturday.
Displaced Cambodian Oeum Raksmey told AFP she was "very happy that people can return home" if the fighting stops.
"But I dare not return home yet. I am still scared," said the 22-year-old, who has sheltered with her family in Cambodia's Siem Reap province.
- 'Real peace' -
On the other side of the border, 55-year-old Thai village head Khampong Lueklarp was similarly cautious.
"I personally think the ceasefire won't really happen," said the head of Ban Ta Sawang Samakkee village in Sisaket province, adding he hoped for "a real peace".
The ceasefire followed three days of border talks convened following a crisis meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni, in a post on X, thanked "ASEAN for playing a positive part" and called on Cambodia and Thailand to implement the agreement "in good faith".
The European bloc was ready to provide any needed support, he added.
The United States and China also pushed for an end to the fighting.
Beijing's foreign ministry said the ceasefire "demonstrates that dialogue and consultations are a realistic and effective way of resolving complex disputes", offering support moving forward.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi will host the Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers for talks in Yunnan province on January 28-29, the countries said.
The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of the 800-kilometre (500-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, where both sides claim ancient temples.
- Broken ceasefire -
Five days of fighting in July killed dozens of people before a truce was brokered by the United States, China and ASEAN chair Malaysia.
Trump witnessed the signing of an expanded agreement between Thailand and Cambodia in October, but it was broken within months, with each side blaming the other for instigating the fresh fighting.
At least 25 Thai soldiers and one Thai civilian were killed in the latest round of clashes, officials said.
Cambodia, outgunned and outspent by Bangkok's military, said 21 civilians were killed.
Phnom Penh has reported no military deaths, even though an official Facebook post showed first lady Pich Chanmony, the wife of Cambodia's leader Hun Manet, at a funeral for troops killed in the fighting.
The violence was still raging while this week's border talks were underway.
On Friday, Cambodia accused Thailand of intensifying its bombardment of disputed border areas, and Thai media reported Cambodian attacks overnight.
While both sides agreed to halt the fighting, they will still need to resolve the demarcation of their border following the ceasefire.
The contested temples are claimed by both nations because of a vague demarcation made by Cambodia's French colonial administrators in 1907.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said he hoped the ceasefire "will pave the way for confidence building & peace".
Thais, Cambodians fear returning home despite border truce
Bangkok (AFP) Dec 28, 2025 -
At a Thai university-turned-shelter for displaced people, Kanlaya Somjettana is reluctant to go home even after a truce halted weeks of border clashes with Cambodia, fearing the violence may not be over.
She said some people forced to flee the fighting began returning home on Sunday, a day after the ceasefire was announced, but many evacuees on both sides of the border preferred waiting for an official word that it was safe.
Some cited a lack of trust that the neighbouring country would respect the truce, after previous ones had been broken.
"I really hope this ceasefire will last long and we can return home," 21-year-old homemaker Kanlaya told AFP from the university campus in Thailand's Surin city.
"But I will not go back home as long as authorities do not confirm that it is safe," she said, adding that the evacuation centre was now less crowded, although hundreds remained there.
On the Cambodian side, 35-year-old So Choeun said she expected to give birth within days and hoped to then take her baby home, about one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the border.
But not yet, said the woman sheltering with family under makeshift tents at a Buddhist pagoda in Banteay Meanchey province.
"Despite the ceasefire, we dare not return home yet. We are still frightened," she told AFP.
"We will wait to see the situation for a few days, if it will stay calm."
Officials on both sides said the day-old ceasefire was holding on Sunday, but for most areas, there has been no all-clear notice just yet.
The truce follows three weeks of renewed cross-border fighting that killed at least 47 people and displaced more than a million on both sides.
China has been involved in mediation efforts, and Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi is hosting the Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers for talks in Yunnan province on Sunday and Monday.
Wang told his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn that the ceasefire "has opened the process of rebuilding peace", according to a statement from Beijing's foreign ministry.
"In the next step, both sides should proceed step by step to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, restore normal exchanges, rebuild mutual trust, and achieve a turnaround in relations," Wang added.
- 'Good sign' -
A previous round in the decades-old conflict -- five days of fighting in July -- killed dozens before a truce was brokered, and then broken.
Many of those displaced by the latest violence had evacuated in July, too.
Rice and cassava farmer Saichon Wongpitak said she could not afford to wait any longer, planning to return to her home in Thailand's Sisaket province on Sunday afternoon.
"I talked to our neighbour who said there was no gunfire since yesterday," Saichon, 38, told AFP, adding that her family would evacuate again if necessary.
"We have fear... but we have jobs to do at home, we have cattle at home, we have our farm," she said.
Saichon said she was glad to hear of the truce, but did not expect it to last long "before Cambodia starts a new round of fighting".
"I live on the border and what I have learned is not to trust Cambodia," she said.
Under the truce, the two countries agreed to cease fire, freeze troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home as soon as possible, while Thailand was to return 18 Cambodian soldiers captured in July within 72 hours.
Kot Ngik, 43, from another camp for displaced people in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey, said she was thankful for the truce since it may allow children to soon return to school.
But "we don't trust the Thai military yet", she said.
"At this point, we are not sure about the situation. They can fight again at any time."
While many evacuees, including Kot Ngik, were still too fearful to leave shelters, So Choeun said the ceasefire at least offered some hope.
"Yesterday morning, I could hear loud bangs, but I have not heard it since 12:00 pm yesterday," she said.
"This is a good sign."
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