Chronic inflammatory bowel disease in children includes Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, indeterminate colitis and Behçet's colitis. The reported incidence of Crohn's disease has increased in the last 30 years. The clinical features of Crohn's disease are most commonly abdominal pain and poor weight gain, whereas those of ulcerative colitis are diarrhoea and rectal bleeding. Treatment is with drugs (sulphasalazine, local or systemic steroids, azathioprine), elemental diet or surgery. The prognosis of chronic inflammatory bowel disease in childhood is good.