Although a considerable body of biological and clinical data has been accumulated on the mood disorders and organic disorders of late life, only a handful of studies have focused on aging schizophrenia patients. Using the results of a comprehensive evaluation of all elderly patients admitted over a 30-month period to a 26-bed acute care geriatric unit, we compared the demographic, social, and clinical characteristics of schizophrenia patients, patients with recurrent major depression with and without psychotic features, and patients with primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer's type with and without delusions. The main findings of this study are that elderly schizophrenia patients were younger, more often African-American, more often single, and poorer than the other groups. A concomitant history of substance abuse and institutionalization as an outcome were more frequent among schizophrenia patients. Like the older depressed and demented patients, schizophrenia patients were predominantly female and commonly presented with several medical disorders. The potential significance of these findings is discussed in the context of the literature on the long-term outcome of schizophrenia.