Prior research has linked the experience of child maltreatment for adults and for school-aged children to dissociation. This study attempted to extend this existing research and examine the relationship or link between child maltreatment and preschool-aged children and examine which subgroups of maltreated preschoolers were most likely to evidence dissociation. The study sample was comprised of 198 preschool-aged children with an average age of 5 years and from low-income families. Sixty-two percent of the children were of minority status. Maltreated children were recruited from families referred to the Department of Social Services (DSS). The maltreated children were assessed for sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect and for severity, chronicity, and multiple subtypes of maltreatment. Each group demonstrated more dissociation than did the nonmaltreated group. Maltreatment severity, chronicity, multiple subtypes, and internalizing and externalizing symptomatology were each related to dissociation. Overall, child maltreatment was identified as a factor in dissociation in preschool-aged children as it is in older children and in adults. The implications of the research include the importance of implementing developmentally sensitive interventions. Due to dissociation reflecting abnormal self-development, interventions need to assist the child in integrating his or her self. Appendix and references