The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 143 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from the sputa of children with lower respiratory tract infections in a Turkish university hospital were determined. Five isolates (3.5%) were resistant and 57 isolates (39.9%) intermediately resistant to penicillin. The most common serotype among these resistant isolates was serotype 23, followed by serotypes 19 and 14. The overall resistance rates were 31% for tetracycline, 11% for erythromycin and cefaclor, 4% for chloramphenicol, 2% for cefotaxime and 0% for vancomycin. The data highlight the need for surveillance of resistance and serotype distribution of S. pneumoniae in our geographical area.