Schizophrenia is a chronic psychotic illness with considerable heterogeneity. Significant gender differences in schizophrenia have been reported in premorbid adjustment, age at onset, familial risk, phenomenology, course and outcome, treatment response and neuroimaging studies. However, most of the schizophrenia research studies have various shortcomings in sampling (chronic subjects, male predominance), diagnostic criteria and design characteristics (retrospective nature). Schizophrenic men have an earlier age at onset, more negative symptoms, poorer response to treatment, more maternal obstetric complications and structural brain abnormalities. Schizophrenic women have higher levels of premorbid adjustment and psychosocial functioning; they have a better course and outcome. They also tend to have a higher risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders among their first-degree relatives. Gender dillerences in schizophrenia, beyond reflecting normal sexual dimorphism, is believed to be directly related to the etiopathogenesis of the disorder. An understanding of these dillerences may provide clues to the nature of schizophrenia and thus are important to consider in future research endeavors. In this article, implications of the role of gender for schizophrenia are discussed.