Schizophrenia can devastate the lives of people who suffer from it. People with schizophrenia suffer distress, disability, reduced productivity and decreased quality of life (QOL). The concept of quality of life has evolved considerably over the last decades. The interest in studying quality of life of persons with schizophrenia started as concern was increasing about the role played by those patients in the community. A conceptual model has recently been described which suggests that the major determinants of quality of life in schizophrenia are symptom severity, level of psychosocial functioning, and the presence of medication side effects. The aim of this work is to determine the relationship between clinical characteristics and quality of life of schizophrenic patients. The study was carried out at the psychiatric outpatient clinics of EI Maamoura hospital for Psychiatric Medicine and Assiut University Hospital. The study included 150 patients diagnosed according to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria of schizophrenic disorder. The data were collected by using an interview schedule to elicit information about socio-demographic & clinical characteristics of schizophrenic patients, the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (P ANSS). The study showed that poor quality of life was affected by the time lapse since last hospital discharge, as well as by the period of untreated psychosis, the severity of all psychotic symptoms, and the medications' side effects. Recommendation: Psychosocial rehabilitation programs should be performed in outpatient clinics, immediately after discharge from psychiatric hospital. Such programs can help patients build up social and cognitive skills and making them more able to deal with ongoing stressors in the community.