Background Child development is multifaceted and depends on various elements including diet, genetic makeup, environmental conditions, and exposure to infections. Proper nutrition significantly impacts a child’s capacity to manage and recover from illness. Thus, evaluating nutritional health is a fundamental aspect of pediatric healthcare. Objective The current study assesses the nutritional status of hospitalized children and adolescents by analyzing growth parameters related to age, weight, height, and gender, identifying disparities , and determining influencing risk factors. Methods A single-center cross-sectional study was conducted at Mohamed El-Alamin Hamed Hospital for children in Khartoum-Sudan. The study focused on children and adolescents aged six months to 16 years who were hospitalized for over 24 hours, excluding those in critical conditions, selected by purposive sampling. Caregivers were interviewed after consent was obtained, with data collected through detailed medical histories, physical examination, and a specialized questionnaire. Results Two hundred sixty-eight subjects were enrolled in this study. Among them, males accounted for 146 (54.5%), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. A total of 199 (74.2%) of the subjects had a height/length for age >-2 z-score (normal), 49 (18.3%) had a +3 SD (obese). Regarding nutrition status, 161 (60%) had normal malnutrition, 32 (11.9%) had moderate wasting, and 45 (16.8%) had severe wasting. Grade 2 edema was observed in four (8.9%) children, and only three (9.4%) had grade 3 edema. Malnutrition risk factors significantly correlated with the female gender, hospital admission rate, and the absence of exclusive breastfeeding (p