Objective To explore the role of pro-inflammatory factors in the pathogenesis of schizo-phrenia by analyzing the relationship between clinical traits and pro-inflammatory factors in acute episode patients with schizophrenia. Methods A total of 105 acute-episode schizophrenic patients （patient group）and 50 healthy controls （control group）were enrolled in this study. We detected the serum concentrations of IL-1β，IL-6 and TNF-α of all subjects with enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay （ELISA）. The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale（PANSS）was used to assess the psychiatric symptoms of patients. The serum levels of pro-inflammatory factors between two groups were compared. And the relationship between pro-inflammatory factors and clinical trait was evaluated. Results （1）Compared with control group，the serum concentrations of IL-β and TNF-α were signifi-cant lower in patient group ［12.3（2.8，15.0）ng/L vs 7.9（1.3，9.9）ng/L，151.6（58.9，186.8）ng/L vs 108.9 （37.0，132.3）ng/L， P＜ 0.05］.（2）After stratification，we analyzed the effects of sex，attack times，duration of illness，family history， and psychiatric symptoms on IL-β，TNF-α and IL-6. Compared with relapsed patients， first-episode schizophrenic patients had significant higher levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. Patients with duration of illness more than 5 years expe-rienced significant higher concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-α，as compared to those with less than 5 years’duration. Serum level of IL-6 in patients with positive family history and that of TNF-α in patients with significant positive symptoms were higher than their counterparts separately （P＜0.05）（. 3）In patient group，serum level of IL-β showed significant positive correlation with that of IL-6 （r=0.49，P＜0.01）and TNF-α（ r=0.30，P＜0.01）. And in control group，serum level of IL-β also showed significant positive correlation with that of IL-6 （r=0.55，P＜ 0.01）and TNF-α（ r=0.34，P=0.02）. Conclusions Immune activation is experienced in acute-episode schizophrenic pa-tients. The degree of immune activation is associated with patients’clinical traits. Immune abnormality might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.