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To determine the prevalence of iron depletion and deficiency, and iron-deficiency anaemia, along with risk factors for iron depletion, in Australian-born children aged 12-36 months of Arabic-speaking background.Community-based survey.Central Sydney Area Health Service (CSAHS), NSW, April to August, 1997.All children born at five Sydney hospitals between 1 May 1994 and 30 April 1996, whose mothers gave an Arabic-speaking country of birth and resided in the area served by the CSAHS.Full blood count (haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume), plasma ferritin concentration, haemoglobin electrophoresis, potential risk factors for iron depletion.Families of 641 of the 1,161 eligible children were able to be contacted, and 403 agreed to testing (response rate, 62.9% among those contacted). Overall, 6% of children had iron-deficiency anaemia, another 9% were iron deficient without anaemia, and 23% were iron depleted. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed three significant independent risk factors for iron depletion:37 weeks' gestation (odds ratio [OR], 5.88, P=0.001); mother resident in Australia for less than the median time of 8.5 years (OR, 1.96, P=0.016); and daily intake of600 mL cows' milk (OR, 3.89, P=0.001).Impaired iron status is common among children of Arabic background, and targeted screening is recommended for this group.