The current prospective cohort study investigated whether early perceptual abilities, measured at preschool age, could predict later intellectual abilities at school age in a group of 41 autistic (9 girls, 32 boys) and 57 neurotypical children (29 girls, 28 boys). More than 80% of the autistic children were considered minimally verbal. Participants were assessed at three time points between the age of 2 and 8 years using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence--Fourth Edition as a measure of full-scale IQ and the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices as a measure of fluid reasoning abilities (Gf). The performance on two perceptual tests (Visual Search and Children Embedded Figures Test) and the frequency of early non-verbal behaviors served as predictors of later intellectual abilities. Early performance on perceptual tests measured at preschool age was positively related to later full-scale IQ in both autistic and neurotypical children. Furthermore, both early non-verbal behaviors and performance on perceptual tests measured at preschool age were associated with later Gf in the autistic group. In contrast, only the performance on Children Embedded Figures Test was associated with later Gf in the neurotypical group. Early perceptual abilities\and non-verbal behaviors may be indicators of general intelligence and Gf abilities.