Objective      To determine the efficacy as well as side effects of adding mirtazapine in the treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia.       Methods      Evidence-based relevant databases at home and abroad up to October 2012 were systematically searched for randomized placebo-controlled trails being published concerning mirtazapine combined with antipsychotics in the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The literatures were collected for a Meta-an

alysis.       Results      Eight randomized controlled trails were included in our analysis. The effective rate [OR(95%CI)=3.75(2.73

5.16)

]

and the cure rate [OR(95%CI)=2.21 (1.23

3.99)

]

respectively of adjunctive mirtazapine with conventional antipsychotic medications were statistically superior to those of antipsychotics monotherapy. Moreover

there were a lower incidence of insomnia and nausea and a higher incidence of drowsiness in adding mirtazapine group (

P

0.05). But there was no significant difference in the rest common side effects between combination therapy with mirtazapine and antipsychotics monotherapy （

P

0.05）.       Conclusion      Mirtazapine in combination with antipsychotics is effective and mainly safe in treatment of negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients.