Background/aim: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of salbutamol delivered to children by jet nebulizer (JN) and mesh nebulizer (MN). Materials and methods: Children admitted with acute asthma were treated with 3 doses of nebulized salbutamol, 1 given by MN. The patients' vital signs, lung function measurements, modified pulmonary index score (MPIS), and whole body plethysmography (WBP) measurements were evaluated before and 20 min after each dose of salbutamol.Results: Thirty-onechildren [9.5 (6.4-17.2) years, 67.7% male, 32.3% female] with mild (67.7%) and moderate (32.3%) asthma attacks were included in the study. The improvements with MN were comparable with JN in terms of changes in pretreatment and posttreatment forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (2.57 ± 4.57, 3.65 ± 5.44; P = 0.44), forced vital capacity (FVC) (2.52 ± 5.29, 4.17 ± 7.54; P = 0.28), heart rate (7.33 ± 10.21, 4.14 ± 9.32; P = 0.24), peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2) (0.38 ± 0.23, 0.43 ± 0.15; P = 0.83), and modified pulmonary index score (MPIS) (-6.30 ± 22.70, -8.77 ± 25.46; P = 0.70). The pre- and posttreatment values of total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV), specific conductance (sGaw), and RV/TLC were similar for the JN and MN groups. Adverse effects were not different: however, complaints of palpitation were significantly higher in the posttreatment MN group than the pretreatment MN group (32.3% vs 9.7%, respectively, P = 0.016).Conclusions: These findings support the previous evidence found in studies of adults that MN is as effective as and as safe as JN in the treatment of acute asthma in children.