Objective:To explore the effect of group painting art therapy on negative symptoms, the cognitive status and social function of patients with schizophrenia during rehabilitation.Methods:A total of 114 patients with schizophrenia recovered from May 2018 to May 2019 in Zhangjiakou Shalingzi Hospital. They were divided into two groups according to the random number table method with 57 case in each group, the control group was given routine nursing, and the observation group received group painting art therapy on the basis of routine nursing. The Positive And Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery(MCCB), and Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) were used to evaluate the symptoms, cognitive status, and social function improvement of the two groups before and after intervention.Results:There were no significant differences in the negative symptom scores and positive symptom scores of the PANSS between the two groups of patients before the intervention ( P>0.05). After the intervention, the scores of negative symptoms and general psychopathology were (11.83 ± 3.19), (17.30 ± 4.93) points in the observation group and (13.57 ± 2.85), (20.34 ± 5.12) points in the control group, the differences were significant ( t values were 2.789, 2.932, P<0.05). After the intervention, the 7-dimensional MCCB scores of the two groups of patients decreased, and the scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group ( t values were 2.046-3.238, P<0.05). After the intervention, the score of SDSS was (11.63±2.71) points in the observation group and (13.84 ±3.14) points in the control group, the differences were significant( t value was 3.653, P<0.01). Conclusions:The use of group painting art therapy in patients with schizophrenia during rehabilitation can promote the improvement of negative symptoms and improve the cognitive and social functions of patients.