Objective To preliminary evaluate the reliability and validity of the ultra-brief screening scale for depression and anxiety [patient health questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4)] in outpatients clinics of community healthcare centers. Methods Totally 313 patients were randomly selected from two community healthcare centers in Shanghai. The patients were asked to complete the PHQ-4 following the prescribed instruction with assistance of a psychiatrist and two physicians, and then were evaluated according Hamilton depression scale(HAMD) and the Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA) followed by a mini international neuropsychiatric interview(MINI). Out of subjects screened, 50 patients were randomly selected to retest the PHQ-4. The reliability coefficients, retest reliability and criterion validity sensitivity and specificity were calculated. The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) analysis was performed to determine the best cut-off value, and the sensitivity and specificity accordingly. Results The Cronbach’α coefficient of PHQ-4 was 0.833, the Spearman-Brown coefficient of the split-half reliability was 0.835. For the test-retest reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.969. The correlation coefficients of generalized anxiety disorder 7(GAD-7) with HAMD and HAMA were 0.391 and 0.407 respectively, both statistically significant (P<0.01). ROC analysis showed that the area under curve(AUC) was 0.919, and the best cut-off value was 3, the sensitivity and specificity of PHQ-4 were 87.1% and 82.6% respectively. Conclusions The Chinese version of the PHQ-4 maintains high reliability and validity in outpatient clinics of community healthcare centers, and is suitable for the screening of depression and anxiety.