POS19 A community-based study was conducted to assess the growth and prevalence of malnutrition in preschool children of District Nowshera, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. One hundred and ninety two babies from birth to fifteen months were followed at an interval of three months for their weight, height and feeding practices. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the families were also determined by interviewing mothers. Mean weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores of the newly born babies were -0.52, 0.10 and 0.99 respectively, which were dropped to-1.74, -1.77, -0.86, respectively, as the children reached the age of fifteen months. The prevalence of malnutrition also tended to increase with increasing child's age. At birth 5.3% of the babies were underweight, 3.2% were stunted and 11.1% were wasted, the percentage of underweight, stunted and wasted children increased to 37.5%, 29.2% and 16.7%, respectively, by the end of fifteen months. Data regarding feeding practices of the mothers revealed that during the first three months only 8.4% of the babies were exclusively breastfed, this was gradually replaced by partial breastfeeding and by the time the infants reached fifteen months only 8.4% were still being exclusively breastfed. Although supplementary feeding was introduced at an early age still it was nutritionally inadequate to meet the requirements of the babies and to prevent the children from malnutrition.