Reporting in PLOS Medicine, researchers found that for every 1,000 children who received the vaccine, an average of 800 cases of illness could be prevented.
And in continuing trials it went on to provide protection some 18 months after the injections were given.
Manufacturers GSK have now applied for regulatory approval - making this the first vaccine to reach this step.
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The landscape of malaria vaccine development is littered with carcasses, with vaccines dying left, right and centre - to get to this stage is very exciting”
Prof Sanjeev Krishna
St George's, University of London
Malaria affects millions of people worldwide and results in 800,000 deaths each year - the majority in children under five who live in sub-Saharan Africa.