The level of psychiatric morbidity in Chinese obstetrical patients in a clinic in New York's Chinatown is investigated, in order to examine the preconception that Chinese living in America have less need for mental health services. One hundred twenty-four patients completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and received a standard clinical psychiatric assessment. Twenty-three percent of the patients received DSM-III diagnoses, an amount similar to that found in other studies in the general population. The GHQ-28 proved to be a good screening instrument to detect these cases, with a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 98% using GHQ greater than or equal to 9 as a predictor of probable psychiatric morbidity. Recent immigrants were overrepresented among high GHQ-28 scorers and among patients who received DSM-III diagnoses.