Objective To study the characteristics of mismatch negativity (MMN) in children with normal hearing, and to analyze the differences of MMN between different ears and genders in normal children.Methods A total of 44 children (25 males and 19 females) with normal pure tone audiometry and auditory brainstem response were examined by MMN in both ears. Classical oddball mode was adopted. Standard and deviated stimuli were 1 000 Hz and 2 000 Hz, respectively. The characteristics of MMN latency and amplitude in children of different genders and ears were recorded and compared.Results MMN waveform could be elicited from both ears in all the 44 subjects. The average latency and amplitude of MMN in left ear of male children were (170.24±32.83)ms and (3.40±2.04)μV, and those in right ear of male children were (172.51±24.19)ms and (4.20±2.29)μV. The average MMN latency and amplitude of left ear of female children were (162.13±31.40)ms and (4.01±2.82)μV, while those of right ear of female children were (170.30±33.11)ms and (3.76±2.80)μV. The differences in MMN latency and amplitude between the left and right ears of all subjects were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in MMN latency between the left and right ears of males (P>0.05), while the MMN amplitude of male left and right ears was statistically different (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in MMN latency and amplitude between left and right ears of females (P>0.05). The differences in MMN latency and amplitude between males and females were statistically insignificant (P>0.05).Conclusions MMN waveform can be stably elicited under the stimulation of short pure tone with different frequencies in children with normal hearing. Their gender and different sides of ear have no significant influence on the latency and amplitude of MMN. However, gender cannot be excluded as a factor affecting the standard data of MMN, and further study with expanded sample size is needed.