Essential fatty acids (EFA) are the major components of cellular phospholipids (PLs), contributing to their stability and functions. They are also precursors of inflammation mediators such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes, and are involved in cellular immunoregulation. Most recent studies have stressed that EFA levels are important in various diseases. Several Authors have stated that patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have altered EFA levels in plasmatic PLs, and showed clinical improvement after oral EFA administration. The aim of our work was to study EFA composition of PLs of cord blood lymphocytes in 32 newborns at risk for atopy, in order to correlate EFA levels at birth with total IgE values and with the onset of atopic disease. Thirty not at risk newborns were studied as controls. Our results demonstrate a significant decrease (p<0.0001) of arachidonic acid (AA) levels in lymphocytes of newborns at risk for atopy, compared to controls, whereas a not significant increase of linoleic acid (LA) was present. No reverse correlation between IgE values and AA levels was found, whereas the 6 month and 1 year follow-up have not shown any major alteration of total IgE values, on the contrary a normalization of AA levels in all but one child has been observed. Only this one child has developed AD. We stress that the preventive action on allergy development recognized to breast milk could be also due to its effect on the EFA composition of the PLs of cell membrane.