Objective To investigate the changes of the levels of serum insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1),25-hydroxyvitamin D[25(OH)D]and indicators for nutrition of patients with short stature in children.Methods Totally 286 children with short stature were enrolled including 142 children aged 0-6 years old and 144 children aged 7-14 years old,while 100 cases of healthy children were enrolled,50 children aged 0-6 years oldand 50 children aged 7-14years old respectively.The levels of serum IGF-Ⅰ,25(OH)D,prealbumin(PA),transferrin(TRF),albumin(ALB),retinol-binding protein(RBP),and free fatty acid(FFA)were detected in each case.Results The nutritional indexes of serum IGF-1,25(OH)D,PA,TRF and RBP in children with short stature aged 0-6 were lower than those in control group.It was significantly different between the two groups(P＜0.05),while there were no difference of the level of serum ALB(P＞0.05);serum IGF-1,25(OH)D,PA,RBP in children with short stature aged 7-14 were lower than those in control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05),while there were no significant difference of the level TRF,ALB(P＞0.05),and their FFA are higher than those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Children with short stature have low levels of serum IGF-Ⅰ,25(OH)D,PA and RBP and high levels of serum FFA.It is significant to detact serum IGF-1,25(OH)D and nutritional indicators early for evaluating and intervening to children with short stature.