Background The physiological differences between fetal and postnatal heart have been well characterized at the cellular level. However, the genetic mechanisms goving and regulating these differences have only been partially elucidated. Elucidation of the differentially expressed genes profile before and after birth has never been systematically proposed and analyzed.Methods The human oligonuclectide microarray and bioinformatics analysis approaches were applied to isolate and classify the differentially expressed genes between fetal and infant cardiac tissue samples. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the results from the microarray.Results Two hundred and forty-two differentially expressed genes were discovered and classified into 13 categories, including genes related to energy metabolism, myocyte hyperplasia, development, muscle contraction, protein synthesis and degradation, extraceUular matrix components, transcription factors, apoptosis, signal pathway molecules, organelle organization and several other biological processes. Moreover, 95 genes were identified which had not previously been reported to be expressed in the heart.Conclusions The study systematically analyzed the alteration of the gene expression profile between the human fetal and infant myocardium. A number of genes were discovered which had not been reported to be expressed in the heart. The data provided insight into the physical development mechanisms of the heart before and after birth.KONG Bo and LU Xiao-dong contributed equally to this study.