Aims and background: Severity scores are used to predict the outcome of children admitted to the intensive care unit. A descriptive score such as the pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) may be useful for prediction of outcome. This study was planned to compare the pSOFA score with these well-studied scores for prediction of mortality. Materials and methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the pediatric intensive care units (PICU) of a tertiary care hospital. Children aged from 1 month to 12 years were enrolled sequentially. The pediatric index of mortality (PIM 2) score was calculated within 1 hour, and pediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) III and pSOFA scores were calculated within 24 hours of PICU admission. The pediatric sequential organ failure assessment score was recalculated after 72 hours. The primary outcome variable was hospital mortality, and secondary outcome variables were duration of PICU stay, need for mechanical ventilation, and occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI). Appropriate statistical tests were used. Results: About 151 children with median (IQR) age of 36 (6, 84) months were enrolled. Mechanical ventilation was required in 87 (57.6%) children. Mortality was 21.2% at 28 days. The median (IQR) predicted mortality using PRISM III and PIM 2 score were 3.4 (1.5%, 11%) and 8.2 (3.1%, 16.6%) respectively. Area under ROC for prediction of mortality was highest for pSOFA 72 with a cut-off of 6.5 having sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 76.9%. Conclusion: The pSOFA score calculated at admission and at 72 hours had a better predictive ability for the PICU mortality compared to PRISM III and PIM 2 score.