Vitamin A status (umbilical cord retinol levels) of 253 newborns in two public hospitals of Rio de Janeiro showed a high prevalence (55. 7%) of deficiency (retinol levels below 1.05 micromol/L). This rate of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was independent of other nutritional and anthropometric parameters, such as low birth weight or small for gestational age. These data suggest that newborns can be as vulnerable to VAD as other population groups considered at high risk. They also suggest that special attention should be paid to this group, actually the most vulnerable to the harmful effects of VAD. Hypovitaminosis A should be among the first diagnostic hypotheses when an infant presents with an abnormality