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This project aimed to explore the potential role of vision in speech contrast production and auditory perception development in children with cochlear implants (CWCI). Ten CWCI between 43 and 61 months of age, with at least 2 years of CI experience, served as participants. Employing an auditory imitation task, children's ability to auditorily perceive contrasts that are more or less visible was examined both at baseline and one year after the initial assessment. The children's ability to produce these contrasts was also examined through a picture-naming task. The CWCI tended to produce features in both visibility conditions with greater accuracy than they perceived, both at baseline and at 1 year. Production and perception accuracy increased after one year of CI usage, with the mean perceptual gain for the more visible contrasts exceeding that of the less visible contrasts. The implications of the role of vision in contrast development are discussed.