Each year 125.000 children are born in the EU with a height that falls below the 2.5th percentile and thereby are considered to have a short stature. Short stature and growth failure are often confused. Growth failure is a pathologic state of abnormally low growth rate over time and a growth deviation from a previously defined growth percentile, whereas short stature can also be due to a normal variation in human height. The European QoLISSY Group describes how to assess the social and psychological quality of life of children and adolescents with short stature and their parents. The handbook includes the QoLISSY questionaire user´s manual (incl. CD-Rom).