Currently, 7 coronaviruses that cause human disease are known, 3 of which over the past 20 years have caused epidemics with a large number of severe cases, a high mortality rate and infection from the primary focus to other countries, followed by the formation of epidemic foci. The last The last epidemic of coronavirus infection (CVI) COVID-19 (COrona VIrus Disease 2019) arose at the end of December 2019 in the province of Hubei, China and still continues. Objective of the research: comparative epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the new CVI and peculiarities of its course in children. An analysis of 64 publications in in peer-reviewed journals and official sources of health care in Russia and China, WHO, devoted to epidemiologically significant CVI, including COVID-19. According to the literature, in all three epidemics of CVI, children, including newborns, were involved in the epidemic process. Almost all sources indicate a milder course of CVI in young children. Cases of perinatal infection are described. The review provides a comparative analysis of the clinical and epidemiological features of CVI in children using SARS, MERS as an example, gives basic approaches and recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 with an assessment of the possibility of using antiviral drugs in children.