Background: Inappropriate use of antibiotics for infectious illnesses of viral origin has contributed to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant organisms. Objective: To determine if the frequency of prescribing antibiotics for children with URIs varies by type of health care provider. Study Population: Historical cohort of 276 randomly selected children residing in Norfolk, VA, followed from birth to 40 months of age, who were identified from a CDC-funded household survey conducted in 1993. Methods: Data were obtained from medical records of study children seen by various types of ambulatory health care providers including private doctors (PD), military clinics (MC), hospital or urgent care clinics (HUCC), public health clinics (PHC) and emergency rooms (ER). URIs included rhinitis, cough, cold, congestion, pharyngitis, and sore throat. URIs with confirmation of bacterial pathogens were excluded from analysis. Otitis media (OM) was analyzed separately. Fisher's exact was used to test significance. Results: Of 2,046 visits for infectious illnesses, 503(25%) were for URIs without another diagnosis and 916 (45%) were for OM; OM was the only diagnosis for 596 (65%) of the 916 visits. Children with URIs were slightly younger than those with OM (median 10.7 months, range.13-40.4 vs. median 12.7 months, range 1.3-39.4). Antibiotics were prescribed for children with OM with or without another diagnosis in at least 95% of visits regardless of provider type. URIs were treated with antibiotics more often in visits to PDs (29%, N=222), HUCCs (27%, N = 45), and MCs (24%, N = 159) than to ERs (10%, N = 58) (p =.002, p =.04, p =.04, respectively); the difference in antibiotics given for URIs at PHCs (21%, N = 19) compared to ERs was not significant (p =.25). Amoxicillin was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic for OM (44%) and for URI (53%) among all provider types.Conclusions: Antibiotics were given in up to 30% of visits for URIs without known bacterial origin, most often by PDs, HUCCs, and MCs, less often by PHCs, and least often by ERs. More than 95% of all providers prescribed antibiotics for OM.