Purpose <p>This study investigated cognitive and emotional empathy profiles in Chinese parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with particular focus on those without broad autism phenotype traits, using a multi-method assessment approach that Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) measures.</p> Methods <p>Parents of children with ASD (<i>n</i> = 32) and parents of typically developing children (TDC) (<i>n</i> = 32) were evaluated for four empathy dimensions via the IRI, and cognitive and emotional empathy through the Chinese version of the MET (MET-C).</p> Results <p>Compared to parents of TDC, parents of children with ASD scored lower on Perspective Taking (PT) and higher on Personal Distress (PD) (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). In the MET-C cognitive empathy task, parents of children with ASD exhibited significantly shorter reaction times (RTs) (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05), while accuracy and emotional empathy ratings did not differ between groups (all <i>p</i> &gt; 0.05).</p> Conclusion <p>Our findings suggest a distinct pattern of empathy alterations in parents of children with ASD, characterized by cognitive empathy reductions and altered affective processing. This evidence collectively underscores the necessity of establishing a targeted, parent-centered intervention framework that focuses on the family’s social-emotional functioning, thereby moving beyond traditional child-centered intervention models.</p>