| Tourney Name: | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| Num Teams: | 12 |
| Confederations: | 1 |
| Matches: | 12 |
| Goals: | 24 |
| Top Scorer: | Chencho Gyeltshen Chan Vathanaka Sunil Chhetri Chiquito do Carmo[1] (2 goals each) |
| Prevseason: | 2014 |
| Nextseason: | 2022 |
The first round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) was played from 12 to 23 March 2015.[2]
A total of twelve teams (teams ranked 35–46 in the AFC entrant list) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[3]
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 (shown in parentheses below).[4] [5] The 12 teams were seeded into two pots:
Each tie contained a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the team from Pot A hosting the first leg.
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.
India won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----Yemen won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second round. ----Cambodia won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----Chinese Taipei won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----Bhutan won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.