Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in early childhood is usually asymptomatic or associated with symptoms common to many other viral infections, such as pharyngitis, bronchitis or enteritis. Typical infectious mononucleosis, as seen in young adult patients, is rare in early childhood. There is also a lower rate of heterophil antibody responses in young children. Many complications of the infection are known, and many atypical manifestations can be identified as EBV-associated using modern EBV-specific serological methods. The problems of EBV infection during gestation and the neonatal period are described and the chronic and persistent infections, as well as the lymphoproliferative syndromes associated with EBV infection, are particularly taken into consideration.