Evidence on the associations of birthweight and prepubertal nutritional status with menarcheal age for low- and middle-income countries is limited. We investigated these relations using the Young Lives younger cohort for 2001 Indian, Peruvian and Vietnamese girls born 2001-2002. Girls were followed at approximately ages 1, 5, 8 and 12 years. Weibull survival models estimated hazards of earlier menarche based on birthweight z-scores (BWZ), and age 8-years BMI-for-age z-scores (BMIZ) and height-for-age z-scores (HAZ). Estimates controlled for potential individual-, mother- and household-level confounders, and for changes in anthropometry between 1 and 8 years. In adjusted models, BWZ predicted later age at menarche (Hazard Ratio, HR=0.90, 95%CI: 0.83 - 0.97). Conversely, HAZ (HR=1.66 95%CI 1.5 - 1.83) and BMIZ at 8 years (HR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.18 - 1.38) predicted earlier menarche. Changes in HAZ and BMIZ between 1 and 8 years were not associated with earlier menarche. Associations were consistent across countries, though with variation in estimated magnitudes. Maternal height and age were associated with later menarche. This evidence points to consistently robust and opposite associations of birthweight versus prepubertal attained height and BMI with menarcheal age in three diverse settings in terms of nutrition, ethnicity and socio-economic status.