This paper examines the impact of socioeconomic conditions on health and mortality between birth and adulthood within the Sardinian community of Alghero, based on data from civil registers and military conscription lists for the period 1866–1925. Socioeconomic status does prove to have a significant effect on chances of survival especially in infancy and late childhood, although no clear trend in mortality differentials by SES emerges for the period studied. The determining role of SES in creating differentials in health status in early adulthood is much more evident.