The clinical course and 3-year follow-up of a female patient aged 11 years who presented with nephrotic syndrome and renal failure is described. The renal biopsy revealed type II membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis or dense deposit disease. She was treated with penicillin prophylaxis, frusemide and captopril, and was not given immunosuppression, anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy. Despite poor prognostic clinical and pathological features, she had spontaneous resolution of her renal failure and proteinuria, although her proteinuria recurred 17 months post presentation. Her unusual progress, with improvement in her disease activity and normalisation of her glomerular filtration rate, is described.