Over the past three decades impressive progress has been made in documenting the development of encoding, storage, and retrieval processes in preverbal infants and children. This literature includes an extensive and diverse database as well as theoretical conjecture about the underlying processes that drive early memory development. A selective review of some of this literature is provided to illustrate the extent and scope of this research, what is currently known about how memory develops over time, and some of the questions that remain to be answered. Importantly, research on early memory development has provided insights into a number of longstanding issues that have been prominent in the memory literature more generally (e.g., the memory systems question, infantile amnesia). It has also yielded practical information relevant to memory functioning in real world settings (e.g., for forensic and clinical psychology). We conclude that the basic processes needed to encode, store, and retrieve information are present very early in life and that although significant developmental advances take place across early childhood, many of the processes that govern memory in preverbal children are common with those of verbal children and adults. These issues are discussed and future directions for research are suggested.