OBJECTIVE: To understand the prevalence of hepatitis C (HC) infection in children of urban Beijing. METHODS: Serum antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and HCV RNA were determined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 4 055 healthy children under 14 years of age living in four urban districts of Beijing. RESULTS: Fourteen children were positive for anti-HCV, and four of them were positive for HCV RNA as well, with a prevalence of HCV infection of 0.35%. There was no significant difference in prevalence of HCV infection between children living in different districts and by sex and age. However, very significant difference in prevalence of HCV infection between children with history of blood transfusion and injection of human blood-derived globulin and those without it. The parents of 14 children with positive anti-HCV were all negative for it. CONCLUSION: Blood-borne transmission still was the main route for HCV infection in children.