Neonatal CLD is known to be associated with developmental delay during infancy. Robertson et al, studying children born in the 1970's, found that at 8 years of age, children recovered from CLD had lower IQ and poorer school performance as compared with controls [Pediatrics 1992;89:365-72]. In the current study we investigated whether these effects of CLD would be found in children born more recently. We also explored the effect of CLD on adaptive development. We evaluated 50 children, 8 years of age, who had: 1) birth weight < 1500 grams, 2) no major anomaly, 3) requirement for assisted ventilation in the neonatal period, 4) a normal neonatal cranial ultrasound or an examination showing only an uncomplicated subependymal hemorrhage, and 5) no signs of cerebral palsy at one year of age. 24 children a a history of requiring supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks post-conceptional age (CLD groups); the other 26 children did not (controls). The 2 groups were similar in terms of birth weight, gestational age, gender, and race. More mothers of CLD children had less than 12 years of education [CLD - 24% vs controls - 8%]. The evaluation included the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition, the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT), and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. Unadjusted comparisons were made using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Comparisons adjusted for years of maternal education were made using linear regression. CLD children had lower Performance IQ [presented as median (range in parentheses)] [CLD: 86 (52-108); controls: 96 (64-130); p=0.004], lower Full-Scale IQ [CLD: 87 (52-110); controls: 101 (65-128); p=0.02], and lower Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales composite score [CLD:94(51-122); controls: 109 (81-120); p=0.03]. These differences persisted when adjusted for years of maternal education. CLD children also had lower scores on the WIAT for reading, spelling, and math, but these differences did not persist when controlling for years of maternal education. In summary, CLD is associated with lower intelligence and delayed adaptive development at eight years of age; these problems, however, need not result in lower school achievement.