Datasets containing standardized craniofacial measurements in African children are not widely available. Such datasets are needed to establish craniofacial norms and document patterns of normal growth, which are often population specific. In this cross‐sectional study we used traditional calipers to collect 13 standard anthropometric measurements on 320 male (n=172) and female (n=148) children from Sokoto, Nigeria with mean age of 38.39 and 37.34 months, respectively. The study participants were divided into eight different age groups: 6–12; 12–18; 18–24; 24–30; 30–36; 36–48; 48–60 and 60–72 months. ANOVA was used to test for sex differences within the age groups. Our results revealed statistically significant sex differences in craniofacial morphology at each age group, except the 12–18 month old subset. The greatest number of sexually dimorphic measures was observed in the 30–36 month and 36–48 month age groups. Through 60 months, the means of measurements that showed significant sex differences were universally larger in females than in males. By the 60–72 month group, mean values for sexually dimorphic traits were larger in males. This is consistent with reports in other cohorts showing a more accelerated rate of craniofacial growth in females during early postnatal growth that begins to level off during childhood. This study provides the first systematic documentation of sex differences in craniofacial variation in typical growing Nigerian children, increasing our understanding of craniofacial growth changes across different age groups in relation to sexual dimorphism. This information can be used by Nigerian clinicians and other health care givers to further understand craniofacial growth and morphology of Nigerian children, and serves as baseline data for the creation of a local craniofacial database that will facilitate diagnosis of craniofacial anomalies and overall patient management.Support or Funding InformationThe author(s) hereby acknowledge the support of the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) through the Short‐term Visiting Scholarship Award to the Laboratory of Dr. J.T. Richtsmeier, Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA as well as the Management of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, for the Staff Training and Development Fellowship Approval/Award (TETFund).This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.