Event-related potentials (ERPs) are objective electrophysiological indicators that can be used to assess cognitive processes in the human brain. Psychiatric researchers in China have applied this method to study schizophrenia since the early 1980s. ERP measures used in the study of schizophrenia include contingent negative variation (CNV), P300, mismatch negativity (MMN), error-related negativity (ERN) and auditory P50 inhibition. This review summarizes the main findings of ERP research in patients with schizophrenia reported by Chinese investigators.