the prevalence of malnutrition among children under 5 years old referred to health centers in iranshahr during 2010-2011

background : malnutrition is still a major health problem in the developing countries. it is recognized that 60% of deaths among children under five year in these countries are associated with malnutrition. the aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of malnutrition in children under 5 years old in iranshahr in 2011.   materials and methods : this is a cross-sectional descriptive study. the sample consisted of 700 children less than 5 years old who were randomly selected by cluster and quota method among health centers. child growth was measured based on nchs-who charts. a questionnaire was used for data collection. data were analysed by spss ver.18, using chi-square, and logistic regression tests for comparing groups.   results : prevalence of stunting (height for age) was 11.1%, (disorder of growth = 7.7%, severe malnutrition = 3.4%), underweight (weight for age) was 9.8% (disorder of growth = 7%). malnutrition has significant association with birth grade, delivery type, hospitalization history, educational level of parents, parents&apos; job, birth weight, vaccination and the regular consumption of supplementary vitamins (p<0/05).   conclusion: although prevalence of malnutrition in this study was lower than who statistic report, (30%) but this is locally important and health staff and parents must be educated on nutritional values. malnutrition is a major problem which is a reason for suppressed immune system, causing the increase of infectious diseases and infant mortality.