Aim: This study aimed to explore the role of peer influences in the development of body dissatisfaction and dieting awareness in young girls. Method: A sample of 81 girls (aged 5-8 years) were recruited from the first 3 years of formal schooling. Girls were individually interviewed. Body dissatisfaction was assessed by means of figure rating preferences, and dieting awareness by responses to a brief scenario. A number of sources of peer influence were also assessed. Results: Year 2 girls were found to display significantly greater body dissatisfaction than younger girls. All girls, irrespective of age, preferred a similar thin ideal figure. Year level constituted the only significant predictor of dieting awareness, with older girls demonstrating a greater understanding of dieting than younger girls. Importantly, girls' perception of their peers' body dissatisfaction emerged as the strongest predictor of their own level of body dissatisfaction. Conclusions: Body dissatisfaction in girls first emerges during the junior primary school years, between ages 5 and 7 years, and appears to be a function of shared peer norms for thinness.