Abstract: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which almost half of ASD patients develop gastrointestinal symptoms and exhibit inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in addition to core symptoms such as social impairment and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. IBD is a chronic disease associated with immune dysregulation, gut microbiome alterations, micronutrient malabsorption, and anaemia which may be perinatal factors associated with ASD. Children with ASD are often diagnosed with comorbid conditions including IBD. Treatment of IBD to alleviate or intervene ASD in children has achieved initial success, and more clinical trails should be conducted in the future to confirm the efficacy and safety of IBD treatment. The investigation of the relationship between IBD and ASD, parental IBD and childhood ASD can provide further evidence support for the etiology research, early screening and clinical treatment of ASD in children.

Key words: Autism spectrum disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis