Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the result of severe injuries of different etiologies of the capillary system in patients with previously healthy lungs, resulting in noncardiogenic pulmonary edema. The authors studied 42 infants in whom the histopathologic aspects were suggestive for ARDS. The etiologic factors of this syndrome were: severe gastroenteritis with hypovolemic or endotoxic shock (13 cases), sepsis (9 cases), fulminans purpura (2 cases), severe neurological disorders (13 cases), pulmonary infections (5 cases). In such conditions, if the infant presents hyperpnea followed by generalised cyanosis, refractory to oxygen therapy, and if there are clinical and radiologic signs of acute pulmonary edema, the diagnosis of ARDS must be considered and a complete intensive care therapy is compulsory in order to alleviate the severe prognosis of this syndrome.