Abstract: The socio-economic status of the family affects the offspring’s participation in physical activities and sports in school or outside the school. The current study aimed to assess the effect of socio-economic status determined by family income, parental education and parental occupation on the sports participations and the perception about participation barriers among sports and non-sports participants in higher education in the UAE. The study demonstrated a higher prevalence of female students among non-participants and a trend of lower participation among students from low income, parents’ education and occupation. The socioeconomic status components showed influences on the students’ perception on barriers of sports participation. Low parents’ education was related to more significant perception of peer pressure barrier among participants. Similarly, low income and parents’ education were related to considering sociocultural barrier as an important barrier among non-participants. Unexpectedly, high income and parents’ education were related consider low priority and lack of interest as significant barriers among participants. The study re-emphasizes the effect of the socioeconomic status on sports participation and the university students’ perception for participation.