The epidemiology of 100 cases of burns occurring to children in the city of Seattle, which were severe enough to require hospitalization, was studied for the purpose of discovering preventive techniques. Burns to children occur primarily between the ages of 6 and 18 months of age. During the age of greatest incidence of burns, boys are burned twice as often as girls. The most common cause of a burn in this series was accidental spilling of hot coffee or tea. The most common place for occurrence of a burn is in the kitchen. When burns occur, parents are in the room with the child as often as not. Morbidity exceeded mortality by 99 to 1. Practical use can be made of this knowledge in efforts at accident prevention by the physician.