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Abstract Background and purpose: Schizophrenic patients have many problems related to cognitive domain, particularly social cognition. Recent research assesses the ability to recognize negative facial expressions in schizophrenic patients (paranoid/non-paranoid) in comparison with their siblings and healthy people. Materials and methods: In this descriptive-correlation research, 15 paranoid schizophrenic patients and 15 non-paranoid schizophrenic patients, and 30 siblings, and 30 healthy people were selected while available. This test is a software which displays 14 pictures for less than 1 second. The results of research were analyzed through multi variance method (MANOVA). Results: The findings showed that non-paranoid schizophrenic patients were less able to diagnose the negative facial expressions in comparison with their siblings (P<0.001), while no significant differences were found between paranoid schizophrenics’ performance and their siblings. There was significant difference between the ability of the siblings of non-paranoid schizophrenics in comparison with that of the healthy people. Conclusion: It can be inferred that inability in the recognition of facial expressions is a cognitive deficit that intensifies the negative symptoms of schizophrenia disorder. Key words: Negative facial expressions, paranoid schizophrenia, non-paranoid schizophrenia, siblings