To investigate the prevalence of hearing impairment in newborns and its successful early detection using automatic otoacoustic emission (A-OAE). All newborns from Virovitica County Hospital Maternity Ward in the period 2004-2006 were included in the screening for hearing impairment. Their hearing was investigated using A-OAE. Hearing impairment diagnosis was confirmed with tertiary audiologic analysis. Hearing was tested in 2422 (98.9%) newborns among whom 199 (8.2%) had positive hearing impairment results. Medical examination showed 43 (1.8%) newborns had positive results and were referred to a secondary institution (Policlinic SUVAG, Zagreb) where in 11 (0.45%) of them was confirmed hearing impairment. A significantly higher percentage of hearing impairment was among newborns with risk factors. The results confirm the importance of early screening for hearing impairment of all newborns in the maternity ward using A-OAE, because this will enable the early treatment and successful rehabilitation.