Background The standard treatment of fever in chemotherapy‐induced neutropenia (FN) includes emergency hospitalization and empirical intravenous antimicrobial therapy. This study determined if first‐day step‐down to oral outpatient treatment is not inferior to continued standard regarding safety and efficacy in children with low‐risk FN. Procedure In a randomized controlled non‐blinded multicenter study, pediatric patients with FN after non‐myeloablative chemotherapy were reassessed after 8–22 hours of inpatient intravenous antimicrobial therapy. Low‐risk patients were randomized to first‐day step‐down to experimental (outpatient, oral amoxicillin plus ciprofloxacin) versus continued standard treatment. Exact non‐inferiority tests were used for safety (no serious medical complication; non‐inferiority margin of difference, 3.5%) and efficacy (resolution of infection without recurrence, no modification of antimicrobial therapy, no adverse event; 10%). Results In 93 (26%) of 355 potentially eligible FN episodes low‐risk criteria were fulfilled, and 62 were randomized, 28 to experimental (1 lost to follow‐up) and 34 to standard treatment. In intention‐to‐treat analyses, non‐inferiority was not proven for safety 27 of 27 (100%) vs. 33 of 34 (97%; 1 death) episodes; 95% upper confidence border, 6.7%; P = 0.11, but non‐inferiority was proven for efficacy 23 of 27 (85%) vs. 26 of 34 (76%) episodes; 95% upper confidence border, 9.4%; P = 0.045. Per‐protocol analyses confirmed these results. Conclusions In children with low‐risk FN, the efficacy of first‐day step‐down to oral antimicrobial therapy with amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin in an outpatient setting was non‐inferior to continued hospitalization and intravenous antimicrobial therapy. The safety of this procedure, however, was not assessable with sufficient power. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012;59:423–430. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.