PURPOSE: to investigate the relationship between phonological awareness and phonological development in children of public and private schools. METHOD: the study included 120 children, of both sexes, aged from two to six years and eleven months old, in 60 private schools and 60 public schools in the Metropolitan Area of Recife. It was used as assessment tools the Proof of Phonological Evaluation and the Test of Phonological Awareness. The children's caretakers also answered a psychosocial questionnaire. The phonological assessment data were transcribed according to IPA International Phonetic Alphabet and analyzed according to the theory of phonological processes. RESULTS: initial analysis did not reveal significant differences between students in public and private schools, as well as between genders. Phonological processes frequently were: simplification of consonant cluster, simplifying of net and simplifying final consonant. A difference was observed between the ages of eliminating some processes in relation to the description of the literature, which possibly reflects the influence of linguistic variety. Regarding phonological awareness, was verified a development because of the advance in age. It was observed a negative correlation between some phonological process and metalinguistic skills. CONCLUSION: the type of schooling, singly, was not a variable that has influenced the development of metalinguistic skills and phonological system. These skills were developed in parallel and they are related to phonological development. It is necessary that further studies be conducted to better understand the relationship between metalinguistic skills and oral language development.