Fantasy may be effective in reducing anxiety in many healthy children and in children living with the long-term stress of chronic illness. Chronically ill (N=26) and healthy (N=26) children, ages five through nine, were randomly assigned to either fantasy facilitation or attention control conditions. Treatment conditions were carried out in the home by the mother under supervision of the experimenter. Chronically ill children were significantly more anxious than the healthy children on all pretreatment anxiety measures. Results indicate that fantasy facilitation was effective in reducing anxiety for both chronically ill and healthy children; those in the attention control condition showed no change in anxiety level. For chronically ill children who are often limited in their personal coping mechanisms, fantasy is one skill which can effectively reduce anxiety. (Author/NRB)