Background <p>Despite the widespread use of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) to measure caregiver burden, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) specific to its abridged Arabic version is lacking in the literature. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the construct validity and reliability of the abridged Arabic version of the ZBI among a sample of parents who are caregivers of children with chronic conditions in Saudi Arabia.</p> Methods <p>This psychometric study recruited 206 parents who were primary caregivers of at least one child diagnosed with a chronic condition. The participants completed the Arabic version of the 12-item ZBI. Construct validity was assessed via CFA, and internal consistency reliability was computed using Cronbach’s alphas.</p> Results <p>The12-item model demonstrated suboptimal fit (χ²(53) = 143.13, CFI = 0.886, TLI = 0.858, RMSEA = 0.091, SRMR = 0.077). After modifying the model based on factor loadings and modification indices, a 10-item model had good fit (χ²(33) = 58.23, CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.950, RMSEA = 0.061, SRMR = 0.050). Internal consistency reliability showed acceptable Cronbach’s alphas for the total scale and the two subscales (α = 0.84, 0.85, and 0.74).</p> Conclusions <p>The 10-item Arabic ZBI demonstrated acceptable construct validity and reliability among parents of children with chronic conditions. This brief, culturally appropriate tool may support routine assessment of caregiver burden among parents of pediatric patients.</p> Trail registration <p>Not applicable.</p>