SummaryThree cases of congenital emphysema in infants are reported. All had clinical signs from birth and were treated by operation a t the age of 2 ½ years, 5 ½ months, and 4 days respectively. Likely causes of the emphysema, in the form of narrowing of the respective bronchi, were found in only two of the patients, one of whom was also suffering from hypoplastic achondroplasia.Aetiology, clinical features, and differential diagnosis are discussed, and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment is stressed.Obstructive emphysema of congenital origin has to be considered as a differential diagnostic possibility, when an infant shows signs of respiratory disorder, consisting in dyspnoea, cough, and possibly cyanosis during the first months of life. The diagnosis is based primarily upon the radiographic changes in conjunction with the history and clinical course.As a rule, the course is chronic. In most cases the treatment is surgical, viz. resection of the emnhvsematous segment