This study compared social and cognitive aspects of play among maltreated and nonmaltreated children and explored the relationship between these aspects of play and positive social behavior in preschoolers. The goals of the study were to: 1) provide specific information about the nature of maltreated children’s social skill deficits; 2) compare the social and cognitive aspects of play for maltreated and nonmaltreated preschoolers; and 3) investigate the nature of the relationship between children’s play and social competence. The social skills and free-play behaviors of 30 maltreated and nonmaltreated children, ages 3-5, were compared. Participants in the study were 15 children with a range of maltreatment experiences drawn from a hospital-based therapeutic nursery treatment program and 15 demographically similar children drawn from a home-based Head Start program. All children were of low socio-economic status. The children’s free-play peer interactions were videotaped during the first 3 months of attendance in either program and analyzed along social and cognitive dimensions. Teachers and therapists rated the children’s social skills in peer interactions using the Social Skills Rating System. Analysis of the study shows that maltreated children were found to have significantly poorer skill in initiating interactions with peers and maintaining self-control, as well as a greater number of problem behaviors. Significant differences were not found between the groups with regard to social participation or cognitive level of play. Significant correlations of moderate strength were found between social participation in play and social skills for the sample as a whole; total social skills were positively related to interactive play, and negatively related to solitary play. The results of this study suggest that the impact of maltreatment on children’s developing interpersonal skills is apparent by the time they are of preschool age. Future studies should continue to investigate the impact of emotional maltreatment among the different forms of maltreatment, and target specific types of social skills and problem behaviors. References and tables