Introduction. The increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children requires early detection of risk factors and regular followup to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Aim of the study. Estimation of risk factors contributing to the onset of MS in overweight/obese children. Material and methods. The results are obtained from the project entitled "Evolutionary aspects of the metabolic syndrome in children under treatment with gastrointestinal lipase inhibitors", number 20.80009.8007.33, within the State Program 2020-2023, carried out in the scientific laboratory of pediatric cardiology of IMSP Institute of Cardiology, Republic of Moldova. The study included 43 children with MS (IDF 2007) aged 10-18 years (general research group) and 50 normotensive/normoweight children of similar age - the control group. Were determined the risk factors, the lipid, carbohydrate profile, some adipokines/ cytokines. The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee. Results. Most of the children were sedentary, exposed to chronic stress and passive smoking, had a poor diet, as well as a hereditary history aggravated by obesity and hypertension. Among the MS components, 62.8% (n=27) were diagnosed with arterial hypertension. Increased serum triglyceride values were present in 27 (62.8%) of the children, hypo-HDL-C - 35 (81.4%) of the children, and 16 (37.2%) of the children had a modified fasting blood glucose. Serum level of insulin (23.6±1.96 vs 14.8±1.03 μU/ mL), leptin (35.4±2.61 vs 7.9±0.23 ng/ml; p<0.001), hs-CPR (3.0±0.44 vs 0.2±0.01 mg/l; p<0.001) and TNFα (9.1±0.43 vs 3.1±0.09 pg/ml; p< 0.001) was obtained higher, and that of adiponectin (5.1±0.38 vs 11.0±0.33 μg/ml; p<0.001) lower in children with MS, compared to the control group. Conclusion. The high rate of MS risk factors imposes the need for their mandatory screening in all overweight children, and biomarkers integrating metabolic and inflammatory signals can be used as tools for the early diagnosis of MS components.