Introduction: Neonatal morbidity and mortality are important public health problems in developing countries. Premature infant is an infant born before 37 weeks of gestation. Premature infants have many special needs for which they often begin their extrauterine lives in neonatal intensive care units . The aim of this work: was to retrospectively identify the morbidity and mortality rates of preterm neonates admitted to NICU of New Children Hospital Cairo University over one year duration (2006). Patients and methods: The study included 184 preterm infants. We studied the impact of different parameters (e.g. mode of delivery, gestational age, admission weight, admission diagnosis) on the morbidity and mortality. Results: Males were more prevalent than females (56.5% versus 43.5%). The gestational ages ranged from 23 weeks to 36 weeks, and their admission’s weights varied from 0.5 to 3.05 kg. The admission ages ranged from few hours to 28 days. The majority (75%) of the cases were singletons, and 49% of mothers had complications during the pregnancy and delivery. The commonest causes of admission were respiratory distress, followed by neonatal jaundice and sepsis. The most frequent complications during the stay of preterms in the NICU were circulatory collapse (shock), seizures, hospital-acquired sepsis, intracranial hemorrhage and NEC.The percentage of mortality was 39%.The commonest causes of mortality were sepsis and respiratory disorders, each responsible for about a third of the dead cases. Conclusion: The best treatment of prematurity is to prevent it. The public and professional awareness of the problems associated with prematurity should be highlighted. Follow-up programs for early detection and intervention for future health problems in preterm infants is recommended.