From March 1982 to March 1992 at the Nephrology Department of Belgrade University Children's Hospital 25 patients (16 females and 9 males, aged from 1.5 to 14 years) were treated for hypertensive emergency. Twenty patients had chronic severe hypertension of whom in 19 it was of renal origin. Five patients had acute hypertension during acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. In 15 patients hypertensive emergency was manifested by neurologic disorders, while in the other patients signs of cardiac failure prevailed. Deterioration of renal function was observed in 9 patients and 2 had sec. haemolytic-uremic syndrome. Three patients died during hypertensive crisis, and the others were successfully treated. The fact that in 50% of patients chronic hypertension could not be revealed until the occurrence of hypertensive emergency, suggests the need of its early detection during systemic check-up.