Examined the proportion and diagnoses of epileptic patients among psychiatric patients and assessed the role of EEG in diagnosis. The study also identified the symptoms and complaints which most commonly generate the interest of the psychiatrist in seeking an EEG for diagnostic purposes and the correlation between clinical diagnosis and EEG findings. The EEGs were reviewed for 300 1-70 yr old outpatients attending the Jeddah Psychiatric Hospital during a 1 yr period. The most common diagnoses for which patients were referred for EEG were generalized epilepsy, partial epilepsy originating in the temporal lobe, psychogenic fits, and undifferentiated fits. Symptoms which most commonly led the psychiatrist to seek an EEG were altered consciousness, convulsions, and disturbed behavior with or without aggression. The high incidence of epileptiform activity lends support to the reportedly high incidence of psychological morbidity among epileptic patients regardless of sociocultural background. In developing countries, epileptics represent a significant portion of patients in psychiatric clinics.