Objective To study the viral pathogens of acute respiratory tract infection (ARI) of children,to know the situation of respiratory virus epidemic of children in Wenling of Zhejiang Province,to assist the diagnosis of children's respiratory virus infection and to offer reference for clinical treatment. Methods A total of 1 200 nasopharyngeal secretion (NPS) samples were collected from ARI children who were hospitalized between February 2013 to January 2014.Direct immunofluorescence (DFA) was utilized to detect 7 respiratory viral antigens,including influenza virus A (FluA) and B (FluB),respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),adenovirus and parainfluenza viruses 1,2 and 3 (PIV1,PIV2 and PIV3).And then statistical analysis was performed. Results 424 virus infection in 1 200 cases of children with ARI were found,the positive rate was 35.33%.Among them,RSV in 290 cases accounted for 68.40% of positive cases,which listed the first;26 cases of FluA,accounted for 6.13%; 10 cases of FluB,accounted for 2.36%;12 cases of ADV,accounted for 2.83%; 22 cases of PIV1,accounted for 5.90%; 6 cases of PIV2,accounted for 1.42%; 55 cases of PIV3,accounted for 12.97% of the positive cases.The detection rate of respiratory viruses of children from the first quarter to the fourth quarter was 41.27%,11.56%,12.74% and 33.96%,respectively.The positive rates of the first and fourth quarter were higher than the second and third quarter,and there was a significant difference between them (P＜0.05).With the increase of age,respiratory virus infection rates gradually decreased in children,virus infection rate was 50.85% among the infants within 6 months,which listed the first.Whereas,the minimum virus infection rate was 16.92% among the children above 3 years old.And there was a significant differences among the groups (P＜0.05). Conclusions Respiratory viruses are the main pathogens in children with ARI.Using the direct immunofluorescence (DFA) can not only provide quick and accurate diagnostic basis but also can offer viral materials in clinic,guide the proper drug use and prevent the abuse of antibiotics.