Objectives: (1) To determine whether the incidence of hyaline membrane disease (HMD) is different among premature babies of pre-eclamptic women and those of normotensive controls; (2) to determine the relative risk (RR) of HMD according to the severity of pre-eclampsia and gestational age. Methods: A retrospective and prospective cohort of 271 pre-eclamptic women and 271 normotensive controls, with gestational age between 28 and 34 weeks was studied, including only singleton pregnancies, live fetuses and well-documented gestational age. Exclusion criteria were ruptured membranes > 24 h, other maternal diseases and previous use of corticosteroids. Statistical analysis included relative risk and multiple logistic regression model. Results: The RR of HMD for babies of pre-eclamptic women was 0.96 (95% Cl: 0.78-1.17), and remained unchanged after controlling for gestational age and multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Preterm babies of pre-eclamptic mothers had the same probability of having HMD as newborns of normotensive mothers. (C) 1997 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.582197202