H of a mild-to-moderate degree is probably the most common abnormality in normoestrogenic menstrual disturbances. Androgen excess arises from abnormal ovarian or adrenal sources. The adrenal androgens, normally secreted by the fetal adrenal zone or the zona reticularis, are steroid hormones with weak androgen activity. Although adrenal androgens do not seem to play a major role in the fully androgenized adult men, they seem to play a role in the adult woman and in both sexes before puberty. Girls, women, as well as prepubertal boys may be negatively affected by adrenal androgen hypersecretion in contrast to adult men. In this review, we examine the roles and effects of adrenal androgens and analyze the clinical significance of their hypersecretion during childhood.