This study was conducted to examine children's behavior toward animals based on various variables. The study population consisted of primary and secondary schools located in the central Pendik district of Istanbul. The study sample included 667 children in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades of these schools who volunteered to participate in the study. The data in the study were collected using a "General Information Form" and the "Animal Behavior Scale" developed by Aysu et al. (2021). SPSS was used to analyze the data collected in the study. An independent samples t-test was used to examine whether the total scores obtained from the Animal Behavior Scale showed significant differences according to various independent variables. The Bonferroni test was applied to determine differences between groups. The study found that the mean score of eighth-grade children was lower than the mean score of fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade children; the mean score of fourth-grade primary school children with two or more siblings was higher than that of single children, and the mean score of children with pets was higher than that of children without pets; the mean score of sixth- and seventh-grade middle school girls was higher than that of boys, and the mean score of children with pets was higher than that of children without pets; the mean score of eighth-grade middle school children with pets was higher than that of children without pets. It was determined that the total score obtained on the Behavior Towards Animals Scale for fifth-grade middle school children did not differ according to any variable. Furthermore, analyses conducted on all children included in the study revealed that girls' average scores were higher than boys'; children with mothers who had a high school education or higher were higher than children with a middle school education or lower; children with working mothers were higher than children with unemployed mothers; and children with pets were higher than children without pets. These results are believed to form the basis for future studies on instilling positive behaviors in children toward living things within the context of environmental education.