As well-known regulators of gene expression, microRNAs (miRNAs) are important not only in cell proliferation and differentiation, but also in tumorigenesis and organ development. It has been estimated that miRNAs may be responsible for regulating the expression of almost one third of the human genome. Simultaneously, with advances in neonatal care in the clinic, an increased number of premature infants are being saved and, thus, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) has become more common. However, previous non-miRNA studies have suggested their connection with RDS. In the present study, a miRNA microarray, including >1,891 capture probes was used to compared the expression profiles of plasma miRNAs between RDS and control groups. miRNAs, which were observed to have consistent fold-changes (fold-change ≥ 1.3) between the two groups were selected and validated using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. As a result, 171 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, including two upregulated and seven downregulated miRNAs. Of these miRNAs, four were selected as having higher fold-changes between the two groups. This is the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that these nine miRNAs have been reported in RDS. It was hypothesized that these novel miRNAs may be important in RDS, and may provide meaningful biomarkers for the diagnosis of RDS.