To determine whether asymmetric growth restriction, abnormally lean body morphology, is associated with cerebral palsy (CP) in infants born with perinatal depression, perinatally depressed Collaborative Perinatal Project infants were assessed. Rates of ponderal index less than 5% for gestational age and race (low PI), a marker for asymmetric growth, were compared in infants either neurologically normal or having CP at 7 years of age. Low PI was associated with CP in infants with Apgar scores of 0 to 3 at 10, 15 or 20 minutes in both of these groups, after exclusion of small-for-gestational-age infants, and was a significant individual correlate of cerebral palsy with multiple logistic regression. The attributable risk of cerebral palsy related to low Pl was 12.4%.