A case of cystic meningioma in a 9-year old girl is reported. The initial clinical symptom was focal epilepsy, and this was followed by progressive hemiparesis. CT of the brain detected a calcified tumour to which two cysts were attached. The tumour was strongly enhanced by the contrast medium. Histology confirmed that the lesion was a meningioma of the psammous type. A review of the literature showed that this is a rare tumour the pathogenesis of which can be explained in various ways. Nautal's classification into 4 types is the most widely adopted. The diagnosis has been made in only 38% of the 166 cases published.