Objective To understand the present situation and the changes on causes of physical disabilities among children aged 0-14 years for the past 20 years in China. Methods Data on children with physical disabilities aged 0-14 years from The China National Sample Survey on Disability in 2006 and 1987,were analyzed and compared. Results The categories on the causes of children with physical disabilities aged 0-14 could be grouped as: congenital diseases and eccyliosis, with injury factors, other factors and disease factors. The specific causing-disability rates were 0. 257%, 0.066%, 0.055% and0.041% respectively. Cerebral palsy rated the highest specific causing-disability as 0.129% in all of the causes. Compared with 1987, the specific causing-disability rate of congenital diseases and eccyliosis had an obvious increase while the rates of disease factors and other factors showed a substantial decrease. The top five causes of children with physical disabilities aged 0-14 years in China were cerebral palsy, deformity,other kinds of traumas, congenital diseases and eecyliosis in 2006. Other causes, postpoliomyelitis muscularatrophy,deformity,other kinds of traumas and unknown causes were the top five in 1987. The age-specific top five causes were basically the same as the total top five causes of children aged 0-14 years with physical disabilities in 1987 and 2006,so as the same relationship between sex-specific top five causes and total top five. Conclusion Congenital diseases and eccyliosis were the main causes of 0-14 year-old children with physical disabilities, and cerebral palsy had the highest specific causing-disability rate while injury factors gradually became the major one.