In a 2-year hospital-based study of acute gastro-enteritis in children under 5 years of age in Blantyre, Malawi, enteric adenoviruses were detected by enzyme immunoassay in 11 (1.4%) of 786 inpatients and in 12 (3%) of 400 outpatients. Enteric adenoviruses were also detected in four (0.8%) children without diarrhoea admitted to hospital. Enteric adenoviruses account for only a minority of cases of diarrhoea in children hospitalised in Malawi.