OBJECTIVES: Aripiprazole has been claimed to have a beneficial effect on cognition with an emphasis on verbal functioning in schizophrenic patients. A prospective, multicenter, open-label study of Aripiprazole was set to evaluate the effect on quality of life, in relation to illness severity and cognitive functioning of a treatment with aripiprazole in schizophrenic patients. METHODS: A total of 363 schizophrenic patients from 18 to 65 years, treated with different typical and atypical antipsychotics or had no previous treatment, were switched to aripiprazole after a 2 week washout period. Quality of life was assessed by use of the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (QLESQ) at 3 separate test moments in a 12 weeks period. At the same time, verbal cognitive function was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the Verbal Fluency test (VF). The Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) was assessed as well at the same visits. Statistical analysis was done using SAS 9.2 with the PROC MIXED module for mixed effects repeated measures analysis. RESULTS: A mixed models analyses on the QLESQ scores showed significant effects for CGI-S in all subscores but “ school “ ( p=0,1485)  and for the verbal cognitive measures only in  subscores “leisure “ for CVLT-LTFR  ( p=0,0002). CONCLUSIONS: The observed difference over time in QLESQ values is dependent on the CGI-S score which contributes mostly to the prediction of the QLESQ outcome. Verbal cognitive outcome was not predictive . These findings are not in agreement with other publications reporting an independent contribution of both measures on quality of life. As the study was open-label, interpretation of the results should be approached with some caution.