This report, one of 10 prepared in 1980 for the Steering Committee for the Five-Year Research Plan of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), was prepared to address the state of the science of nutrition research and to relate the programs of the NICHD to present and future needs in nutrition research. Specifically, the report defines the NICHD mission and overall objectives in nutrition research; reviews recent significant findings in nutrition and development; surveys the current state of nutrition knowledge, and defines gaps in that knowledge; recommends, within the framework of the NICHD mission, research issues or objectives that need to be addressed during the next 5 years; suggests research priorities among these 5-year objectives; and states the resources needed to accomplish these objectives. (MP)