Narcolepsy is a chronic rapid eye movement sleep disorder that is characterized by lethargy and its four common clinical features are excessive daytime sleeps, cataplexy, hypnagogic and hypnopompic hallucinations, and sleep paralysis. Narcolepsy onset usually occurs in childhood. Because of the onset with atypical symptoms, the poor expression in children and currently no special diagnostic criteria for children, the rate of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis were increased in children. This paper reviews the progress of research in pathogenesis of narcolepsy and the differences of children from adult in clinical symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.