The aim of this study was to investigate the early characteristics of four profiles of readers established in second grade (7-8 years of age): good readers, specific poor decoders, specific poor comprehenders and general poor readers. These profiles were compared retrospectively on a range of measures administered 2 years earlier, in kindergarten. These measures were based on factors known to be predictors of either decoding skills or comprehension performance. The results showed that children experiencing comprehension difficulties in second grade have early deficits in vocabulary, inferencing, working memory and morphology, while the children with decoding difficulties have limited letter knowledge and rapid naming performance. Phonological skills and verbal short-term memory appeared to be deficient in all three profiles of struggling readers. These results are discussed in terms of the early identification of at-risk children in kindergarten and the remedial programmes that could be provided to them at an early stage.