BACKGROUND: In recent decades, following the introduction of effective chemotherapy, the prognosis of children with leukaemia and lymphoma has dramatically improved, but data reflecting further possible improvement achieved in the 1990s are scarce. METHODS: Using the Automated Childhood Cancer Information (ACCIS) database, we carried out a period analysis of 10-year survival for the 1995-99 period. Analyses were carried out by diagnostic groups, age-group at diagnosis, sex and four European regions. RESULTS: Ten-year survival estimates for the 1995-99 period were 73% for any type of leukaemia, 78% for acute lymphoid leukaemia and 52% for acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia. The corresponding 10-year survival rates for all types of lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma were 84, 91 and 79%, respectively. These figures are much higher than those obtained by traditional (cohort-based) methods of survival analysis. A large difference in prognosis is still observed between the East and other parts of Europe. CONCLUSION: Major improvement in prognosis for children with leukaemia or lymphoma has been ongoing in Europe during the 1990s, but further monitoring and investments are required to remove the large regional differences between European regions.