Determined the validity of the 20-item, Arabic version of the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) as a screening instrument for nonpsychotic mental disorders in primary-care settings. The best cut-off point for caseness of the SRQ-20 was also examined. 217 Ss (aged 16-80 yrs) were screened using the SRQ-20 and the Arabic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and were interviewed by a psychiatrist. SRQ-20 was a valid instrument for detecting minor psychiatric morbidity in primary health care settings. A cut-off score of 5/6 produced a balanced combination of sensitivity and specificity to maximize predictability and minimize misclassification. Sensitivity in the entire sample was 78.3%, with specificity of 75.2%. However, there were variations of sensitivity and specificity between men and women and between literate and illiterate Ss.