To determine how well nonpsychiatrists recognize the types of psychiatric symptoms, a study was made of the diagnoses for 142 patients suffering from psychological dysfunction secondary to physical illness. These patients were selected from among those referred for psychiatric consultation by other departments during the period 1980-1982 at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. The patients selected were those for whom both medical and psychiatric diagnoses could be identified or ruled out. Of these referrals, 56% came from the Department of Medicine, 34% from Surgery, 5.6% from Obstetrics and Gynecology, and less than 5% from Pediatrics. The principal psychiatric diagnoses found included depression, organic mental disturbance, and drug misuse disorders; there were also cases of anxiety, hypochondriasis, and other psychiatric disorders. It was found that nonpsychiatrists were most able to recognize organic mental symptoms and depressive and neurotic symptoms; they were least able to identify the psychotic symptoms in these patients.