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.

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.

[2] The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 (shown in parentheses below).

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.

Chinese Taipei won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.