A visual search task was used to assess developmental changes in children’s selective attention to specified portions of a visual display. Seven-, nine-, and twelve-year-ols searched for a target letter in matrices of letters , each of which was centered in a form. On each matrix the forms were uniform or they varied in color, shape or both color and shape. The children searched with either no cues or with color or shape cues that could be used to restrict and speed their search. In all conditions search speed increased with age. Comparisons among conditions revealed three different age trends. With no cues children of all ages were slowed comparably by variation in back ground forms. With color cues all children increased their search speeds relative to no-cue speeds, suggesting selective fixation, but the 12-year-olds benefited most from the cues. With shape cues the search speed of 9- and 12-year-old was slowed while that of 7-year-olds was either unchanged or was slowed slightly. These different trends caution against overly general statements of changes with age in selective attention, and highlight the need to consider both particular task requirements and the processes used by subjects of different ages in tasks requiring selective attention.