Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an immune-mediated acquired disease with transient or persistent decrease of thrombocytes number in the blood. Cytokines play important roles in the immune regulation and are known to be deregulated in autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to investigate serum IL-16 levels in relation to reticulated platelets in children with ITP and platelet count. Twenty six children with ITP (11 with newly diagnosed ITP, 9 with persistent ITP and 6 with chronic ITP) and 12 age-matched healthy children controls were studied. Serum level of IL-16 and reticulated platelets count were assessed by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry respectively. Serum IL-16 levels were significantly higher in patients as compared to controls (P