Objective To explore the extent and severity of cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia and in order to offer more credible evidence to the treatment of schizophrenia. Methods Eighty-eight patients with schizophrenia and Fifty healthy controls in Shaoxing city were measured with Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-RC), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-RC), Cancellation Test (CT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Results There was statistically significant difference between the two groups in visual recognition, visual reproduction, 1→100, 100→1, accumulation, picture remember, associative learning, touch test, logical memory, reciting figure and memory quotient of WMS-RC (t=2.40, 4.66, 2.90, 3.48, 4.03, 4.40, 2.13, 3.01, 3.97, 2.29, 4.87, respectively; P