The Nephrology Branch of the Chilean Pediatric Society has greatly influenced the development of government health plans regarding the management and care of patients under 18 years with chronic renal failure (CRF). In order to assess the status of children with CRF in Chile up to 1996, a questionnaire was sent to all pediatric nephrologists in charge of those children. The total sample was of 227 patients under 18 years, giving a national prevalence of 42.5 and an incidence of 5.7 per million inhabitants; of these patients, 50.7% were male, 58.6% over 10 years and 15% younger than 5 years. The most frequent etiologies of CRF were: obstructive uropathy, 18.1%; hypo/dysplasia, 16.7%; reflux nephropathy, 16.7%; and glomerulopathies, 16.3%. Although 48% of patients were on conservative medical treatment, 42.2% of these were in end-stage renal disease, 22.9% were on dialysis, and 29.1% had undergone renal transplantation. Of the dialysis group, 75% were on peritoneal dialysis. Of the transplanted children, 78.8% had normal renal function, but 16.7% returned to dialysis. Three-year graft survival and patient survival were 68% and 94%, respectively.