The authors conducted a clinico-epidemiological study of schizophrenics among the indigenous population, including that living in isolated areas and newcomers, taking into consideration forms of the disease course and employing a uniform syndromal assessment of the mental state. The authors have established general pathogenetic regularities of the course and their relationship with the age and sex. Patients from the indigenous population, particularly of geographically isolated areas, showed a higher incidence of schizophrenia, a more severe clinical picture of the disease and a lower level of social and occupational adaptation as compared to the migrated population.