We report an inbred Arab family from the United Arab Emirates with two children affected with mental retardation, iris coloboma, optic atrophy, nystagmus, and a distinctive facial appearance. This includes a long narrow face, downslanting palpebral fissures, a narrow nose with hypoplasia of the alae nasi, a small philtrum and a thin upper lip. We suggest that the combination of abnormalities in these children represents a previously undescribed autosomal recessive syndrome