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Reading relies on a left‐lateralized network of brain areas that include the pre‐lexical processing regions of the ventral stream. Specifically, a region in the left lateral occipitotemporal sulcus (OTS) is consistently more activated for visual presentations of words than for other categories of stimuli. This region undergoes dramatic changes at the functional and structural levels when children learn to read, but little is known about the effects of early cerebral constraints on reading skills. Using anatomical magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated whether the sulcal pattern of the lateral OTS—a stable brain feature—was associated with oral reading skills. The sulcal pattern of the left but not the right lateral OTS was associated with the number of words correctly read in 3 min. This study is the first to evidence that reading is affected by early cerebral constraints, such as the sulcal morphology of the left lateral OTS.