Many children hospitalized with serious bacterial infections are candidates for either home oral antibiotic therapy or outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. Outpatient antibiotic therapy offers the potential for excellent medical treatment, reduced costs, and improved quality of life for ill children. However, cost considerations must not override good medical judgment. Certain children simply are not candidates for outpatient therapy because of the seriousness of their infection, poor compliance, lack of intravenous access, or poor social situation. In addition, although the few published studies to date all show that outpatient antibiotic therapy is effective, there is further need for properly designed clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of outpatient antibiotic therapy for serious bacterial infections in children.