Abstract: The prevalence of violence behavior in patients with schizophrenia is higher than that in common population. Data suggest that genetic factors may play a substantial role for the etiology of the behavior. Among the particular gene polymorphisms that have been considered to be involved in violence behavior, the catechol-O-methyltransferase （COMT） gene had been the focus of recent research. This article reviews the association research between COMT gene and violence behavior in patients with schizophrenia in several aspects： SNP polymorphism of COMT Val158Met and COMT Ala72Ser, haplotype of COMT gene and DNA methylation of promoter region of COMT gene. The genetic research direction is presented for patients with schizophrenia.

Key words: forensic psychiatry, schizophrenia, review [publication type], catechol-O-methyltransferase, violence