The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical background and identify the risk factors for perioperative respiratory complication in pediatric patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) who underwent adenotonsillectomy (AT). Of the 186 pediatric subjects (male: 131, female: 55) undergoing AT as the first surgical treatment for SDB, 14 patients (male: 9, female: 5) fulfilled the following criteria: 1) disturbed ventilation, 2) cyanosis with an oxygen saturation of less than 90% on pulse oximetry during the perioperative period and 3) the subsequent need for medical intervention, including immediate intubation, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or airway insertion. Among these 14 patients, nine were less than 3 years of age. In addition, 5 and 3 patients had hypotonia due to cerebral paralysis and metabolic disturbances, respectively. Seven had a short stature with an SD of worse than - 1.5. A statistical analysis showed that cases with either an age of less than 3 years, hypotonia or a short stature had a high risk for suffering from respiratory complications, and suggested that low body weight and a high value for preoperative apnea-hypopnea index were additional risk factors. However, a chart review exhibited that, of the 14 cases with respiratory complications, the 8 cases whose age was under 3 years had either of hypotonia or a short stature. In thirteen of the 14 cases, respiratory complications were associated with the process of general anesthesia, and ten patients exhibited pharyngeal collapse. After surgery, 7 and 3 patients required intensive care in the ICU and the pediatric recovery unit, respectively. Based on these results, it is suggested that pediatric SDB cases under 3 years of age and either with hypotonia or a short stature have a high risk for respiratory complications associated with AT, and therefore AT for such patients should only be performed in medical facilities with an ICU or an equivalent department.