The present study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of malocclusion and orthodontic treatment need in a group of Egyptian school children in Matrouh governorate using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need. This study was a part of a research project between the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and the Orthodontic department representing the Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Cairo University which included seven separate studies in different Egyptian governorates. Matrouh governorate was divided into eight regions according to geographical location; schools were chosen randomly from each region thus, 8 schools were included in the study. A total of 500 students (50.6% males and 49.4% females), aged 8 to 12 years who had not undergone orthodontic treatment were randomly selected from public schools in Matrouh governorate. The randomly-chosen students were school children of both genders born to Egyptian parents and those who did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded from the sample. A letter was sent to the parents of all students to seek consent for their cooperation in the study. Clinical examination was performed with the cooperation of the health care specialist where each student was seated on an ordinary chair with the head in an upright position under good illumination and was instructed to occlude on his posterior teeth to assess anteroposterior, vertical and transverse dental relations using latex gloves, mouth mirrors and plastic rulers. Each child was then asked to open his/her mouth for intra-arch dental Intra-arch examination.