Current prevalence of ASD is 1 in every 88 children. Family physicians play a critical role in early screening, identification and long-term management of autism in children. Early screening involves administering an autism-specific test to all children at their 18- and 24-months office visits, not just to children who demonstrate autistic behaviors. The main objectives of the study are to screen for ASD in children and to increase the awareness of mothers, care givers and health workers to abnormal behavior in children. This is a cross sectional descriptive study carried out on 800 children between 18 and 24 months of age attending two primary health care units in Albasateen district, Cairo city. The current study used the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M–CHAT) and the M–CHAT Follow-Up Interview (FUI) to screen 800 children during their routine visits to the two primary health care units. Of the 800 children screened, 39 required follow up interview. Of those 39 children, 16 children showed a high risk for ASD after the follow up interview. High risk group showed significant delay in different aspects of development. Hospitalization of the child, presence of sleep problems and the presence of chronic medical condition to the mother during pregnancy were of significant results. All questions of M-CHAT were significant (P value = 0.00). This study highlights the importance of early screening of ASD using an easy, quick, and applicable screening tool.