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Emotion understanding (EU) is the ability to identify, predict, and explain our emotions and those of others. Its development is influenced by verbal and reasoning abilities that are often deficient in people with Down syndrome (DS). It may also be influenced by sustained attention and inhibitory control. The objectives of this study were therefore: 1) to compare the level of EU of DS participants and children with typical development (TD) of the same developmental age; 2) to investigate to what extent attentional abilities predict EU development. Participants with DS and TD participants completed various tests assessing EU, non-verbal reasoning, receptive vocabulary, sustained attention, and inhibitory control. The results showed that DS participants exhibited lower EU and that the impact of sustained attention and inhibitory control depended on the group. These results suggest that people with DS have an atypical development of EU, highlighting the need to adapt the support available by taking these difficulties into account.