Mechanical ventilation is a life-saving therapy used in children in PICU. These critically ill children are usually extensively investigated in PICU. Chest radiograph is an irreplaceable investigation in these patients prior to ventilation. AIM: We studied the impact of initial chest radiograph on the final outcome of ventilated children. DESIGN: Retrospective. SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital. METHOD: One hundred and forty-one children were included in the study. Initial chest radiograph of all the ventilated children was evaluated and outcome of these children was correlated with the initial radiograph at admission. RESULTS: Abnormal initial radiograph was recorded in 60% (n = 84) ventilated children. Overall mortality in ventilated children was 24% (n = 34). Ventilated children with abnormal initial radiograph had significantly greater mortality (28/84) than those with initial normal chest radiograph (6/57) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Initial chest radiograph at the beginning of ventilation may be useful to predict the outcome of these children