To investigate the physical growth characteristics of children for (small for gestational age,SGA) in Shanghai. Methods General survey was used.The subjects consisted of 25 431 children.All the children SGA whose birth were September 1,2004 to October 1,2011 were established cards and gathered their physical examination data by retrospective survey,which included height(supine length if under 2 years),weight,head circumference and chest circumference.All the SGA children were classified into 12 age points.SGA were divided into preterm SGA and full-term SGA,then compared the developmental level and growth in value with normal children (AGA). Results The incidence of SGA was 3.15% in Shanghai,1.87% for urban and 3.42% for rural respectively;Compared with the AGA,SGA children falled behind for growth development until 6 years old.The sequence of growth was preterm SGA＞full-term SGA＞AGA until 6 years old. Conclusion SGA at 0~6 years of age showed catch-up growth,SGA in preterm infants have a greater growth potential.