At least two others were injured in the blaze Wednesday night at Cherokee Woods Apartments.
Firefighters found the bodies as they went through the eight-unit building looking for trapped residents. Officials initially said four were killed in the fire but revised the number early Thursday morning.
The cause of the fire was unknown.
Of those who died, two of them appear to be mother and father, said DeKalb County fire Capt. Eric Jackson. The relationship of the other person was not immediately known.
The fire broke out at the apartment complex east of Atlanta shortly after 10 p.m. It took more than three dozen firefighters about 45 minutes to get the fire under control. Only the brick shell of the building was left standing.
In addition to the three deaths, a mother and child were taken to the hospital after jumping from a second-story apartment. Their injuries were not believed to be life threatening, Jackson said.
More than 20 other residents were displaced by the fire. Most of them are immigrants from southeast Asia.
''Everybody has lost everything,'' said Linda Hughes, the Red Cross District Action Team Captain for DeKalb County. ''We are trying to figure out what they will need. They'll have to start from scratch.''
