The paper discusses the relationships between emotion regulation and social competence in childhood. A brief background regarding the origins of the interest in this subject and some of the reasons that justifies its relevance are presented. Afterwards, the constructs Maria Isabel Rendon Arango* Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota Recibido: Marzo 15 de 2007 Revisado: Abril 20 de 2007 Aceptado: Junio 4 de 2007 * Correspondencia: Ma. Isabel Rendon, Docente. Correo electronico: mirendona@unal.edu.co Direccion postal: Ciudad Universitaria carrera 30 no. 45-03, edificio 212, Departamento de Psicologia, Bogota, Colombia. ISSN: 1794-9998 / Vol. 3 / No. 2 / 2007 / pp. 349-363