Abstract Background: Children are submitted to various procedures during hospitalization and in some situations, they are not allowed to take part on them. Aim: to understand children’s experience of autonomy during therapeutic procedures. Method: It was conducted in a public teaching hospital in São Paulo. Data were carried out by observation and semi-structured interviews with nine children. Results: the qualitative content analysis allowed the comprehension of children’s experience of autonomy, revealing that the right of autonomy is poorly contemplated, so […]