Malnutrition is a multi-factorial problem that contributes to many health problems, 7 as a cause or as a consequence. In elderly, it is a major health problem as it leads to progressive 8 decline in physical and cognitive health, increased utilization of health services and increased 9 mortality. Aim: To screen the elderly persons for malnutrition and to detect the underlying 10 factors of this problem. Subjects and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 320 11 elderly persons. A structured interview questionnaire sheet was used. It included socio-12 demographic data, anthropometric measurement, the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form 13 (MNA-SF) in its Arabic version, physical, psychosocial and cognitive risk factors of 14 malnutrition. Results: Overall, 35% of the participants were malnourished and 38.4% were at 15 risk of malnutrition. There were significant associations between malnutrition or being at risk of 16 malnutrition and all the studied socio-demographic characters (P