Dermatitis gangraenosa infantum is one of the rare but serious cutaneous diseases of childhood. In the past fifteen years three cases have been reported in English and American dermatologic literature, while the pediatric literature over this same period has contained no mention of it. Recently a child with this condition came under our observation. The unusually extensive involvement of the skin, the presence of staphylococcic bacteremia and the apparent response to intensive treatment, followed by complete recovery, prompts us to report the case. The lesions of dermatitis gangraenosa infantum begin as discrete papules and soon develop into pustules. A scab forms, with ulceration at the periphery, and there may be surrounding hyperemia. The eschar is usually black; when it is removed, ulcers with sharp perpendicular edges are revealed. These vary in diameter up to several centimeters. They look as if different-sized holes had been punched out. The entire thickness of