The hospital records of 99 children with foreign bodies in the airways (n = 51) or oesophagus (n = 48) were reviewed with respect to occurrence, course of disease and mortality. Childhood death records in Denmark over a ten year period due to asphyxiation by food were surveyed. A third of the patients with oesophageal foreign bodies had respiratory symptoms. Most children with airway foreign bodies were aged 1 to 3 years and generally had a positive history of choking. The dominating symptoms were cough, wheezing and cyanosis. Chest X-ray was normal in 25%. There were no complications during bronchoscopy. The most common foreign bodies extracted were nuts (29%). The estimated death rate due to airway foreign bodies is 0.9 per 100,000 children in Denmark per year. Rigid oesophagoscopy and bronchoscopy should be performed promptly on suspicion of foreign bodies located in the oesophagus or airways to ensure fast recovery. Nuts, tablets and other small items should not be within reach of small children.