Objective of the research – to study the morbidity and physical development (PD) of children in orphanages with different social environment. Study materials and methods: the study analyzed data on diseases and PD of 57 children aged from 5 to 59 months from two St. Petersburg orphanages: 24 from a traditional orphanage and 33 from a family orphanage. Medical information on the perinatal period pathology and the diseases structure after birth were studied. Comparison of anthropometric parameters (weight/height/head circumference/chest circumference/body mass index) was performed both at birth and at the time of the examination. Results: the study of morbidity showed that children had a high incidence of perinatal period pathology: intrauterine infection, birth trauma, «abstinence syndrome», were premature; had a genetic disease. The state of children's health due to the presence of somatic diseases and nervous system diseases did not significantly differ. Conclusion: the study of children PD showed that their anthropometric characteristics in orphanages are significantly lower than the normative standards for the children's population in the Russian Federation and do not differ between traditional and family social and emotional conditions of living in orphanages. It also revealed that in orphanages children without central nervous system disorders аnd genetic diseases have higher PD indexes.