A striker, Kilambe played in South Africa for Kaizer Chiefs, Bloemfontein Celtic, and Mamelodi Sundowns and for Power Dynamos, Yunnan Hongta, and Zanaco F.C. in his native Zambia.

Kilambe debuted for the Zambia national football team in 1998 and has since played a major part in his country's successes. He played at the 1998 and 2000 African Nation Cup Finals.

In September 2001, he was suspended for 6 months from international football since he tested positive for cannabis use following a World Cup qualifier against Cameroon. Kilambe was the first African player to be banned by FIFA on doping related charges. The ban denied him the chance to play at the African Nations Cup Finals in Mali.^[1]

Kilambe scored the winner and only goal of the game for Bloemfontein Celtic in the SAA Supa 8 2005 final and then repeated the feat one year later, scoring for Kaizer Chiefs in the 62nd minute of the 2006 final.^[2][3][4]

Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kilambe goal.

List of international goals scored by Rotson Kilambe

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	17 February 1998	Stade Général Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso	Mozambique	1–0	3–1	1998 Africa Cup of Nations	[6]
2	27 September 1998	National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	1–0	1–0	1998 COSAFA Cup	[7]
3	4 October 1998	Independence Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	DR Congo	1–1	1–1	2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[8]
4	24 January 1999	Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar	Madagascar	2–1	2–1	2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[9]
5	10 April 1999	Konkola Stadium, Chililabombwe, Zambia	Kenya	1–0	1–0	2000 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[10]
6	16 December 1999	Estadio General Francisco Morazán, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	1–4	1–7	Friendly	[11]
7	5 January 2001	Nairobi City Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya	Kenya	1–2	1–2	Friendly	[12]
8	29 July 2001	Tripoli Stadium, Tripoli, Libya	Libya	2–2	4–2	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification	[13]
9				4–2
10	6 July 2002	Independence Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	Mozambique	1–0	3–0	2002 COSAFA Cup	[14]
11				3–0
12	12 October 2002	Independence Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia	Benin	1–1	1–1	2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualification	[15]

• Zambia Super League Top scorer: 2002

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences