Summaryobjective To determine the prevalence of iodine deficiency in children in Eastern Province, Cameroon. method Urinary iodine (I) and thiocyanate (SCN) excretion levels were assessed in 158 children (62 boys and 96 girls) aged 7-19 years.results Mean urinary iodine excretion was 4.49 lg ⁄ dl for girls and 4.71 lg ⁄ dl for boys, lower than the 5.0 lg ⁄ dl minimal value defined by WHO. Overall 64.42% of subjects had urinary iodine excretion below the minimum, more than three times the population percentage (20%) at which a zone is declared endemic. Mean urine SCN concentration and mean I ⁄ SCN ratios of the study population were 2.57 ± 1.43 mg ⁄ dl and 2.21 ± 1.35 lg ⁄ mg for boys and 2.91 ± 1.57 mg ⁄ dl and 1.91 ± 1.1lg ⁄ mg for girls.