This paper examines the relationship between institutional quality and patterns of trade in ASEAN countries using a rich panel data set of 129 countries over the period 2000- 2012. Using the fixed-effects and random effect estimation methods, the results show that better institutional quality in the trading partners of ASEAN plays a crucial role in the bloc’s export performance. By decomposing institutional quality using different components we also found that the importers’ legal structure and security of property rights as well as freedom to trade internationally play an important role in attracting export from ASEAN countries.