The authors reviewed renal venous thrombosis (RVT), a frequent cause of acute renal failure in newborns. Clinical manifestations and prognosis are unsteady and, although there is agreement about the management of underlying conditions and general abnormalities, the relative role of anticoagulant and fibrinolytic therapy has not been clearly established. The 5 RVT described cases were treated in our hospital in the last 5 years. Four out of five were followed and one of these was submitted to nefrectomy to control arterial hypertension. The findings are compared to literature and present therapy is discussed.