The judge Thokozile Masipa said the South African athlete had been "negligent" on the night he killed the model at his Pretoria home.
The Paralympian and Olympian, dubbed Blade Runner due to his prosthetic limbs, has always admitted he had shot Ms Steenkamp.
He said he mistook her for an intruder and fired four bullets from his 9mm pistol through the toilet cubicle. Judge Masipa in court in Pretoria
In court, judge Masipa accused him of being a poor witness, muddled over his defence and a liar.
Pistorius showed little emotion as the guilty verdict of culpable homicide, which is South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter, was handed down.
Yesterday, the double amputee broke down in the Pretoria courtroom as he was cleared of two murder charges over the shooting.
She said he did not intend to kill anyone and could not have seen that the intruder he thought was hiding in his toilet was actually Ms Steenkamp.
Judge Masipa also criticised Pistorius' decision to reach for his 9mm pistol and fire it through the toilet cubicle rather than raise the alarm or fire a warning shot.
Today, she told the courtroom: "Having regard to the totality of this evidence in this matter, the unanimous decision of this court is the following: on count one, murder ... the accused found not guilty and is discharged.
"Instead he is found guilty of culpable homicide."
The judge began the day's events by dealing with the three firearms charges which were unrelated to last year's Valentine's Day shooting.
Pistorius was found guilty of discharging a firearm at a restaurant on January 11, 2013.
But he was acquitted of firing a gun through a car sunroof while with his then-girlfriend Samantha Taylor and friend Darren Fresco on November 30, 2012.
He was also cleared of illegally possessing .38 ammunition. Pistorius denied all three charges.
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