A case of a 15 month old female patient with thrombocytopenic purpura induced by postnatally acquired Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is described. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin caused a satisfactory but short-lived attainment of normal platelet count. Spontaneous recovery took place after ten months. A review of the literature up to 1993 revealed that medical treatment of severe thrombocytopenia in normal hosts with the same aetiology had been reported in only five cases, Prednisone treatment was given in four cases (all adults), with no apparent effect on platelet count. Persistent severe thrombocytopenia in a one-year-old child responded to repeated intravenous infusions of immunoglobulin.