Twenty mildly mentally retarded students were matched with two groups of normal students, one of the same chronological age (CA) and one of the same mental age (MA), to examine the influence of age indices and metamemory on memory behavior in terms of recall accuracy and recall time. This was achieved using a metamemory instrument which was adapted for use with the retarded sample and included relevant recall tasks. Results of specific reponses showed group differences when the nature of each question and the degree of sensitivity required to repond to it were considered. Recall accuracy measures showed that when tasks exhibited some organisational features, the retarded group was as accurate as the CA counterparts; when recall tasks were less organised, they responded much like their mental age counterparts. In terms of recall time, the CA matched group responded significantly faster than the MA matched group and retarded students on all tasks. Regression analyses on recall accuracy showed that depending on task characteristics, chronological age emerged as a significant predictor of recall in certain situations, and in others, mental age was a superior predictor. Metamemory reponses in two tasks accounted for more variance than either CA or MA. Regression analyses on recall time indicated that MA was the single most powerful predictor here. (Author/CL)