In most developed countries, malignant lymphomas account for 10--15% of all cancers occurring among children aged 0--14 years. The present study estimates survival after a diagnosis of lymphoma in childhood, based on the EUROCARE II database which includes 34 population-based cancer registries from 17 European countries. The survival pattern of children with malignant lymphoma diagnosed in 1985--1989 is reported, as well as the time trends since 1978. The analyses focus on Hodgkin's disease (HD, 1696 cases) and on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL, 2255 cases including Burkitt's lymphoma and unspecified lymphomas). For HD, the European weighted average 5-year survival rate was 93% (95% confidence interval (CI) 82--98) in 1985--1989. The survival rates were not affected by either age or gender. 5-year survival rates ranged from 68% (95% CI 34--90) in Estonia to 96% (95% CI 92--98) in Germany and 100% (95% CI 57--100) in Slovenia. Multivariate analyses for the time period 1978--1989 gave little suggestion of an improvement in survival over the later time periods of diagnosis. For NHL, the European weighted average 5-year survival rate was 74% (95% CI 67--80) in 1985--1989. Gender did not influence the survival rate. Children in the age group 0--4 years had a poorer prognosis compared with older cases (5-year rate: 66% versus 77% in the pool). 5-year survival rates ranged from 53% (95% CI 30--76) (Estonia) to 83% (95% CI 62--94) in France and 83% (95% CI 66--92) in Scotland. Multivariate analysis show a decreasing HR for the more recent periods of diagnosis from 1 in 1978--1981 to 0.67 (95% CI 0.56--0.79) in 1982--1985 to 0.48 (95% CI 0.40--0.57) in 1986--1989. Exploratory analysis, conducted including the cancer registries which provided cases diagnosed until 1992, show a positive trend over time for both types of lymphoma.