Reading literacy is one of the most important abilities acquired by students at school. The aim of this study was to compare the development of reading ability of deaf and hearing students in Iran. A retrospective study was done through "Progress in International Reading Literacy Study scale with a cross sectional design. Participants were 80 students with congenital profound hearing loss in primary, middle, and secondary schools for the deaf, as well as 80 hearing peers in regular schools. The results revealed a significant difference in reading literacy between deaf and hearing students in all educational grades. However, no development in reading skills of deaf students was seen after primary schools; denoting that reading skills have not been developing through middle and secondary schools in the deaf students. The mean scores of female students were higher than male students.