The AFC Fifth Round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was held on 5 and 9 September 2017 between the team that finished third in Group A and the team that finished second in Group B of the fourth round. The order for the matches was decided by a random draw held on 2 June 2017 during the FIFA Congress in Castries, Saint Lucia.
The winning team advanced to a play-off against the winner of the OFC qualifying group, Fiji. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2018 World Cup finals.
AFC Fifth Round play-off[]
| World Cup qualifying | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2017 90 minutes |
 China PR
|
1-0 |  Australia
|
Workers Stadium, Beijing Attendance: 60, 543 Referee: Heinz Sabzolster (Austria) |
Manchu Alou  20'
|
||||
| World Cup qualifying | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2017 90 minutes |
Australia
|
1-1 | China PR
|
ANZ Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 82, 345 Referee: Séan Laing (Republic of Ireland) |
| Marchmont 17'
|
Manchu Alou 27'
| |||
China PR won 2-1 on aggreggate and advanced to the AFC-OFC play-off.