The objective of this study was to assess self-concept in children with short stature after intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), before and after 2 years of growth hormone (hGH) treatment. We assessed 25 children before treatment, and 40 children after a 2-year treatment period. Seventeen of the 25 children of whom we had pretreatment data, were reassessed after 2 years of hGH treatment. All children had a birth length below the 3rd percentile, and did not show catch-up growth (current height < P3). We compared the self-concept measures (Self-Perception Profile for Children; SPPC) of the IUGR group with similar measures of a Dutch school sample. Four of the six SPPC mean scale scores of the IUGR group prior to treatment were significantly lower than mean scores of the school sample. Mean scale scores of the group children, assessed after 2 years of hGH treatment, did not differ significantly from those of the school sample. In the group of 17 children who were assessed before as well as after 2 years of treatment, the mean scale scores of ‘social acceptance’ and ‘general self-worth’ were significantly higher at the second assessment (t = -5.93, p < 0.001 and t = -4.36, p < 0.001, respectively). From the present study we can hypothesize that short stature after IUGR and a low self-concept are related.