Aims. Maternal smoking is considered as a source of oxidative stress, which has been implicated to disrupted adipokines expression in adipose tissue. We examined the relationship between selected adipokines and markers of oxidative stress/antioxidant defence in the umbilical cord of neonates exposed and nonexposed in utero to tobacco smoke. Methods. Subjects including 85 healthy neonates (born to 41 smokers and 44 nonsmokers) were tested for adiponectin, visfatin, oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), total oxidant capacity (TOC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Results. Cord serum visfatin, ox-LDL, and TOC were significantly higher (p < 0.001) but adiponectin and TAC were lower (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, resp.) in smoking group than in tobacco abstinents. In whole group of children (adjusted for smoking status, gender, and birth weight) adiponectin showed negative and visfatin positive correlations with ox-LDL. In the model estimated separately for smokers ox-LDL explained 36% of adiponectin and 35.5% of visfatin variance, while in the model of nonsmokers it explained 36.8% and 69.4%, respectively. Conclusion. Maternal smoking enhances oxidative status and depletes antioxidant potential in newborns. Lower level of adiponectin and higher visfatin concentration seem to be related with a less beneficial oxidative stress profile and higher level of lipid peroxidation in neonates exposed and nonexposed in utero to tobacco smoke.