Episodic autobiographical memory (ABM) is important for social functioning. Loss of specificity in ABM retrieval has been observed in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our aim was to extend these findings to subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and very early AD. We performed a cued ABM task with both subject groups and healthy elderly controls. Although aMCI participants performed better than early AD subjects both showed reduced specificity of ABM retrieval when compared with controls. We conclude that qualitative memory retrieval deficits could contribute to social functioning impairment in people with aMCI and early AD, and highlight the complexity of symptoms already present in early stages of cognitive impairment.