ABSTRACTDiabetes depresses the growth process in diabetic children. The purpose of this study is to determine the pace of chest growth, in the age and gender aspects, in children suffering from type 1 diabetes. 71 boys and 69 girls, aged 7 to 18 years, suffering from type 1 diabetes were examined. They are divided into two age groups: junior - 7 to 12 and senior - 12 to 18 years. Healthy children were measured as a control, divided into the same age groups. All children investigated are of Bulgarian ethnicity. The sagittal and transverse chest diameters and the chest circumference at respiratory pause were measured. The data were processed through variation analysis and calculated with Student's t-test criterion. Data analysis indicates that diabetic patients' chest grows more in transversal direction than in sagittal. There were observed significant differences in growth rate in the senior age group in both sexes, which is probably due to the puberty occurrence. Growth rate of the chest in children with diabetes and controls did not differ significantly.