Sexual abuse is emerging as one of the major form of child abuse. In the late 1990s, official reports of sexual abuse began to mushroom at a much more rapid rate than reports of other forms of abuse in Korea. In addition, sexual abuse can cause the most serious emotional-cognitive-behavioral sequelae to victims. Although child & adolescent psychiatrists meet many sexual abuse victims who are referred from many types of child protective services, the psychiatrists may not be likely to give them sufficient and appropriate treatment and guideline for victims and their parents. In this article, the historical concepts, pathophysiological processes, shortterm & longterm sequelae of sexual abuse are reviewed and summarized. And I summarize the intervention and outcome studies for sexual abuse victims. In the close future, the active participation of psychiatrists who help the child and adolescents will be expected in the development of nationwide preventive and therapeutic projects for victims and families of sexual abuse.