The theories of the cognitive anatomy of attention may be a simple and clinically feasible method to gain insight into the mechanisms of the potential neuropathology underlying the coordination deficit in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). However, there have been no preceding studies comparing the inhibitory control and event-related potential results to an identical eye-gazed cues reaction task with bilateral lower extremities in children with DCD and typically developing children. PURPOSE: To investigate and compare the behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) measures in children with DCD and typically developing (TD) children when performing a visuospatial attention task with automatic (exogenous) orienting. METHODS: Twenty-four children with DCD and 24 TD children were recruited and presented with central eye-gazed cues directing them to attend covertly to the right or left field location, or straight away. All participants should detect and respond to laterally presented reaction signals via stepping pedals with their bilateral lower limbs when performing the task while recorded brain ERPs simultaneously. RESULTS: Behavioral data showed that children with DCD responded slowly (F 1,46 = 61.72, p < 0.001, partial h2 = 0.57) and exhibited a deficit in the disengage operation of directing covert operation as compared to TD children (F1,46 = 9.09, p = 0.004, partial h2 = 0.17). In terms of electrophysiological characteristics, children with DCD also showed distinct effects upon longer N2 (F1,46 = 9.05, p = 0.004, partial h2 = 0.16) and P3 latencies (F1,46 = 8.83, p = 0.005, partial h2 = 0.16), smaller P3 amplitude (F1,46 = 6.58, p = 0.014, partial h2 = 0.13), an elongated interval between N2 and the motor response (F1,46 = 42.53, p < 0.001, partial h2 = 0.48), and small areas on contingent negative variation (F1,46 = 8.55, p =.005, partial h2 = 0.16). CONCLUSIONS: Children with DCD showed a deficit in the automatic attention orienting, probably owing to slower response inhibitory process and stimulus classification speed, less ability in interhemispheric and cognitive-to-motor transfer speed, and less mature abilities on anticipatorily executive process and motor preparatory.