Kangaroo mother care represents an appropriate affordable high-quality approach to the care of low-birth-weight infants in developing countries. This approach entails early prolonged and continuous skin-to-skin contact between the mother and infant both in hospital and after discharge with exclusive breast feeding. An international workshop convened in Trieste Italy in 1996 reached consensus on the use of kangaroo mother care in first-level facilities and third-level hospitals in countries with very limited resources. In practice all low-birth-weight infants who are breathing well and free from severe disease or malformation are eligible for this technology if the mother is available. In-service training on kangaroo mother care should be organized in every hospital providing care for low-birth-weight infants. This article describes in detail the protocol for implementation of this technology in low-income countries.