Background: The world prevalence of diabetes in 2010 among adults aged 20-79 years is estimated to 6.4%. Epidemiological studies showed increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus over the past few decades, and around 50% of cases of type 2 are asymptomatic. We have conducted a targeted screening to study the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in the companions of diabetic patients and screen for asymptomatic cases and to identify risk factors associated with their diabetes in outpatient clinic. METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study investigating 347 adults aged 18-60 years determined the diabetes status in a random sample of companions of diabetic patients. A standard questionnaire, a simple clinical examination and laboratory tests assessed blood sugar, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and other risk factors for diabetes. RESULTS: The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the companions of diabetic patients was 9.5%. Around half (45.45%) of cases were new and asymptomatic, the rest (54,54%) were already diabetics on treatment. The mean age of diabetics was 44.25 ±4 years while that of non-diabetics was 27.8 ±8.31 years. The prevalence of overweight was 44%, it was higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics.