INTRODUCTION: Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection of the lower respiratory tract of infants and young children. The most common causative agent is RSV and it occurs epidemically. In our hemisphere, epidemics occur in winter. Clinical features include signs of expiratory dyspnea and bilaterally audible crepitations. Apnoeic attacks may also occur in the youngest infants. Treatment is symptomatic - volume replacement therapy, nasal irrigation and follow-up in case of deterioration. The effect of bronchodilators and corticosteroids is not convincing and should not be used routinely. PURPOSE OF THE WORK: To determine the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of children who were hospitalized due to viral bronchiolitis in the Pediatric Clinic of KBC Rijeka in a six-year period. RESPONDENTS AND METHODS: The medical records of 202 children hospitalized for bronchiolitis in the Pediatric Clinic of KBC Rijeka in a six-year period (January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2022) were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The average age of hospitalized children was 5 months and 27 days (range 10 days - 4 years). Most of the children were male (n=122; 64%). 33 of them (16%) were born prematurely (gestational age ranges from 24 to 36 weeks). Apnea attacks were more often recorded in premature infants compared to all subjects (27% vs. 8%). The average duration of hospitalization was 5.1 days (range 1-27 days). The presence of RSV was proven in slightly more than half of the children (n=111; 55%). An approximately equal proportion of them received oxygen (n=110; 54%) by mask (n=71; 65%), using high-flow oxygen (n=44; 40%) and through NIV (n=12; 11%). Of the other therapy, 54 of them (27%) received inhalations of hypertonic NaCl solution and 143 of them (71%) received at least one dose of an inhaled bronchodilator. Simultaneous use of inhaled bronchodilator and corticosteroids was used systemically in 77 (38%) children. In the period before the COVID-19 pandemic (until March 2020), the most hospitalized cases were recorded during March and February, and in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in October and December. In the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, cases were also recorded in August, which was not seen in the previous period. CONCLUSION: Given that RSV was isolated in more than half of hospitalized patients, it can be concluded that RSV is truly the most common cause of bronchiolitis. The average age at which bronchiolitis occurs is 6 months. Chest X-ray is not routinely indicated for the diagnosis of bronchiolitis but is still often used to exclude other conditions in the differential diagnosis. A more severe clinical picture characterized by apneic attacks is more common in premature infants. As for therapy, relatively frequent use of bronchodilators and corticosteroids is still recorded. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were unexpected epidemiological changes in the typical seasonal incidence of viral bronchiolitis.