Premature births (PTB) remain a global issue. Associated maternal socio-biological risk factors and disparities among racial groups have been identified but little is known about the differences in the distribution of risk factors within some racial groups. We compared the frequency and distribution of factors associated with PTB in a sample of African American (AA) mothers who delivered a term infant (n = 174) and a sample of AA mothers who delivered a preterm infant (< 37 weeks gestation; n = 78). Women (n = 252) were recruited from post partum units in a large urban U.S. medical center between 1 and 3 days postpartum and interviewed by study personnel per approved institutional review board protocols. Maternal age ranged from 18 to 41 years (mean = 24.6, SD = 5.6). Most mothers (74%) had at least a high school education, had never been married (74%), did not plan the recent pregnancy (77%), had at least one prior pregnancy (73%), and had insurance coverage with the state Medicaid program (76%). More than half of the total sample (55%) reported high depressive symptoms with 63% of the preterm mothers having CES-D scores ³ 16. Mothers with PTB were more likely to have had a prior preterm birth (57%) than mothers who delivered a term infant (26%). Mothers with a PTB were also more likely to be unmarried and younger, to report higher family stress, more cigarette usage, and incomes that were never enough to meet expenses. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge about the distribution of socio-biological factors in African American mothers. Many risk factors are potentially malleable yet few mothers reported receiving related services. Targeted interventions to meet the needs of African American mothers are not available. More work related to the development of culturally sensitive interventions is needed.