ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat sandwiches is a consequence of insufficient hygienic handling and improper processing, posing a major health hazards. This study was conducted to assess RTE meat sandwiches as a potential source for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Furthermore, the identifiedS. aureus isolates were tested for detection of mecA virulence gene of MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and enterotoxin encoding genes (sea, seb, sec, and sed). A total of 80 samples of ready-to-eat meat sandwiches represented by kofta, liver, shawarma and hawawshi (20 of each) were collected from various fast food restaurants of different sanitation levels at Zagazig city, Sharkia province, Egypt. The obtained results revealed that S.aureus were isolated from 4 (20%), 3 (15%), 4 (20%) and 5 (25%) of the examined kofta, liver, shawarma and hawawshi samples, meanwhile the average count of S. aureuswas4.21, 4.83, 4.79 and 4.32log10 cfu/g of the examined samples, respectively. Out of 16 identified S. aureusisolates,4 (25%) of MRSA strains were characterized by the presence of the mecA gene, comprising two isolates from kofta, one from liver and one from shawarma sandwiches. Enterotoxogenic virulence genes were evaluated by multiplex PCR, revealing that oneisolate from shawarma samples harbored the sea and sedgenes,whereas one isolate from kofta and hawawshi was positive for the sea gene, and only one isolate from examined liver sandwiches was positive for secgene. Thus, strict hygiene practices should be applied during preparation and processing of such meat sandwiches to ensure its safety before serving to consumers.