The objective of the study was to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice of the population of Qatar towards severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The study took the form of a cross-sectional community-based survey in Doha International Airport and primary health care centres situated in urban and semi-urban areas of Qatar. The survey was conducted among travellers arriving at Doha International Airport and community residents visiting health centres from April to September 2003. A total of 1,800 subjects were approached for the study of which 1,386 (77.0%) responded to the questionnaire. The study showed that although 79.4% of the total subjects claimed to know about SARS, only 8.0% had accurate knowledge about all of the symptoms of SARS. The respondents' satisfaction with the preventive measures taken by the health authorities was only 66.6%. Overall, 73.0% of the total subjects knew that SARS was highly infectious; 69.9% knew that it could spread through close contact; 67.4% were aware that high fever was the early symptom; and 60.8% thought SARS could be cured. Half of the subjects said they had gained most of their knowledge on SARS through television and radio programmes (52.2%). Three-fifths (60.1%) were afraid to travel for fear of being affected by SARS. The level of awareness of SARS among Qataris was poor (31.7%) compared to that among non-Qataris (68.3%). The level of knowledge about SARS was better among educated subjects. The survey found a high level of stress and fear among the respondents. Health authorities should be on the alert and re-examine their capacity to manage an outbreak like SARS in the event that such a mishap should recur in the future.