Comparison of the history of 136 children with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) with their follow up in a special urologic service (260,6 patient years) showed marked differences in symptoms of recurrent UTI prior to follow up (769 "anamnestic" recurrent UTI) as compared to true significant bacteriuria (278 recurrent UTI during follow up). Therefore parents statements about time of first UTI and incidence of further recurrences should be considered with caution. Only 10% of the physicians proved their diagnosis "UTI" bacteriologically. Anamnestic data, however, are of great importance for the follow up of children with recurrent UTI: children with many recurrences in their history have a greater risk of further recurrences despite careful follow up, and tend to have more pathologic findings on first radiologic examinations.