OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of the literature review was to gather data concerning burden of schizophrenia in seven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia) taking into account: epidemiology, clinical guidelines and recommendations, current standards of care, costs of illness, resource utilisation, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), stigmatisation and discrimination related to schizophrenia. The project focused on negative symptoms (NS). METHODS: A targeted search was performed focused on publications issued from 1995 onwards and indexed in the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Centre for Review and Dissemination. Moreover, searches for literature in local languages from each country of interest were conducted. RESULTS: Fourteen reviews related to schizophrenia epidemiology were identified and revealed that the mean incidence of schizophrenia varied greatly from 0.04 to 0.58 per 1,000 population and lifetime prevalence from 0.4% to 1.4%. At least one negative symptom was found to be present in 57.6% of schizophrenia patients and in 50–90% of individuals experiencing their first schizophrenia episode. Primary NS were observed in 10–30% of patients. Mortality of schizophrenia patients was greater than in the general population (Standardised Mortality Ratio varies between 2.58 and 4.3), potentially due to increased suicide risk, effect of illness on lifestyle and environment, and side effects of disease treatment. Identified guidelines indicate a role for second-generation antipsychotics in NS treatment, nevertheless the development of novel therapeutic approaches should be pursued actively. Thirty-seven primary publications identified from the seven CEE countries which relate to HRQoL of patients and caregivers revealed that the disease greatly affects HRQoL of hospitalised patients and has a significant negative impact on caregivers’ QoL. CONCLUSIONS: The literature review confirmed that schizophrenia is one of the most common and burdensome mental illnesses, with NS present in a relatively large percentage of patients.