Objective To detect the levels of insulin-like growth factors in children with acute leukemia (AL). Methods A total of 50 previously untreated AL patients were selected, meanwhile 30 healthy children were selected as normal controls. AL children were given regular chemotherapy. All cases were not given the brain radiotherapy. The levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), free insulin-like growth factor-1 (fIGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) in AL patients before treatment and 6 months after complete remission were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and were compared with those in normal controls. Results Before treatment, compared with normal controls, the serum levels of IGF-1, IGFBP-3 in AL patients were lower while the level of fIGF-1 was higher, and the differences were signiifcant (P<0.01). At six months after complete remission, the levels of IGF-1 and fIGF-1 in AL patients were similar to those before treatment, but were signiifcantly different from those in control group (P<0.05);the level of IGFBP-3 was signiifcantly higher than that before treatment (P<0.01), but was similar to that in control group. Before treatment, the level of IGFBP-3 in AL patients was positively correlated with the level of IGF-1 (r=0.777, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with the level of fIGF-1 (r=-0.714, P<0.01). Conclusion Insuline-like growth factors were involved in the pathophysiological process in children with AL.