AbstractInfant homicide rates for the United States from 1960 to 1980 were examinedto determine if the etiological pattern associated with adult homicides also applies to homicide of infants. Although the rates for males and for nonwhites are higher than for females and whites, in other respects the infant rates did not follow the adult pattern. The rates for infants did not increase betweeen 1960 and 1980, and no significant correlations were found with 22 variables which explain a large percentage of the state‐to‐state variation in adult homicide. Consequently, criminal justice and public health policies based on the etiology of adult homicide may not apply to infant homici