OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of t(8;21) on the curative effect and prognosis of children with acute myelocytic leukemia M 2 (AML M 2). METHODS:The clinical characteristics, curative effects, relapse rate, mortality and event free survival (EFS) rate of 14 cases of M 2 children with t(8;21) and 21 cases of M 2 children without t(8;21) were analysed. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in age, initial WBC count and clinical characteristics between the M 2 patients with t(8;21) and without t(8;21)(P> 0.05 ). The complete remission rate ( 92.9% ) in M 2 patients with t(8;21) was significantly higher than that ( 57.1% ) of children without t(8;21) (P< 0.05 ), while the relapse rate and mortality were of no marked difference between the two groups (P> 0.05 ). The overall EFS rate in M 2 children with t(8;21) was lower ( 69.2% ) than that ( 77.8% ) of children without t(8;21) (P< 0.05 ). CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of the M 2 children with t(8;21) was not better than that of the M 2 children without t(8;21). The infuence of t(8;21) on the prognosis of M 2 might be different from race and region.