Izhodišče: Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, ali obstajajo razlike v gibalni učinkovitosti med otroki z normalno telesno težo, s prekomerno telesno težo in z debelostjo. Raziskava je bila opravljena na vzorcu 572 otrok iz severovzhodne Slovenije (povprečna starost 7,3 leta, SO = 1,29). Na osnovi indeksa telesne mase (ITM) so bili otroci razdeljeni v skupine z normalno telesno težo, s prekomerno telesno težo in z debelostjo. Za ugotavljanje gibalne učinkovitosti je bilo uporabljenih šest testov različnih gibalnih sposobnosti (moč, vzdržljivost, hitrost, ravnotežje in koordinacija gibanja). Razlike v gibalni učinkovitosti med otroki z normalno telesno težo, s prekomerno telesno težo in z debelostjo so bile izračunane z analizo variance, statistično značilnost razlik pa smo ugotavljali na ravni tveganja p < 0,05 in so bile natančneje opredeljene s pomočjo preizkusa Scheffe post-hoc. Rezultati kažejo, da ima primerno telesno težo 73,8 % otrok, prekomerno telesno težo 16,6 % otrok in debelost 9,6 % otrok. Med otroki z normalno telesno težo, s prekomerno telesno težo in z debelostjo obstajajo statistično značilne razlike (p < 0,05) v vseh obravnavanih gibalnih sposobnostih. Najbolj gibalno zmogljivi so otroci z normalno telesno težo, nekoliko nižja je gibalna učinkovitost otrok s prekomerno telesno težo, medtem ko je gibalna učinkovitost najnižja pri skupini otrok z debelostjo. Rezultati dokazujejo, da obstaja tesna povezanost med gibalno učinkovitostjo in statusom telesne teže otrok. Aim: The main aim of the research was to find out whether there are any differences in physical fitness between non-overweight, overweight and obese children. Research has been carried out on 572 children from the north-eastern part of Slovenia (aged 7.3 years, SD=1.29). Children were classified as non-overweight, overweight and obese according to age and sex specific body mass index (BMI) cut off points. In order to assess physical fitness, six different tests that cover explosive power, balance, coordination, speed and endurance were used. ANOVA was used to assess the differences in physical fitness between non-overweight, overweight and obese groups. Statistical significance was set at an α level of 0.05. Results show that 73.8% of children were in the non-overweight group, 16.6% in overweight group and 9.6% in obese group. Differences in all physical fitness tests between non-overweight, overweight and obese children are statistically significant (p<0.05). We have established that the non-overweight children achieved a higher level of physical fitness than overweight and obese children. In addition, overweight children achieved a higher level of physical fitness than obese children. This data suggests that the level of physical fitness and weight status are closely related