Background: Obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are common in patients with schizophrenia. However, the relationship of OC symptoms with cognition in schizophrenia remains puzzling. Methods: 47 patients with schizophrenia were tested on the pattern and spatial recognition memory (PRM and SRM) and the spatial working memory (SWM) tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and were rated on the Yale-Brown OC scale (YB) in an acute psychiatric ward. We categorized patients into three groups according to severity of OC symptoms (YB=0, n=17; 11≤YB≥1, n=11; YB≥12, n=16). We also divided them into two groups, consisting of patients with a possible commorbid OCD diagnosis (YB≥17, n=9) or not (YB<17, n=35). Statistical correlation analyses and the Mann-Whitney test were performed using the SPSS. Results: We failed to find significant differences among the groups. No significant correlations were detected between YB obsession, compulsion or total scores and memory performance. Discussion: Patients with schizophrenia and commorbid OC symptoms are not more cognitively impaired on tests of visual recognition and spatial working memory than their counterparts without OC symptoms. These findings cast doubt on the postulated negative influence of OC symptoms on cognitive function in schizophrenia.