Aim: Studies investigating the association between clinical features of schizophrenia and nicotine dependence have yielded contradictory results, and the majority of them included only male patients in the analysis. Since similar studies have not been performed in our population, we investigated whether, and to what extent, the nicotine dependence might contribute to age of onset and data of Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) psychopathology, among schizophrenia patients in the Croatian population. Patients and methods: The study comprised 265 patients (males/females: 140/125). Age at first hospital admission, at which the diagnosis of schizophrenia was used, was determined as the age of onset, while evaluation of PANSS psychopathology was performed during an acute illness state at the time of last hospital admission. Smokers were defined as persons who smoked more than one cigarette daily for more than one year, and nonsmokers were defined as persons who never smoked in their life. Results: Nicotine dependence, revealed among approximately two-third of patients (males: 70.7%, females: 62.4%), is twice as frequent as in the general Croatian population. PANSS psychopathology scores did not differ significantly between smokers and nonsmokers, neither among males, nor among females (P > 0.05), while nicotine dependence was significantly associated with the age at first hospital admission only among male patients. It has been detected that male smokers had a significantly earlier onset when compared to male nonsmokers (25.3 ± 6.8 vs. 28.8 ± 9.3, F = 5.15, P = 0.025). The nicotine dependence contributed to the age at first hospitalization among male patients by approximately 4% (β = -0.21; multiple R2 change = 0.04; P = 0.024). Conclusion: Nicotine dependence may contribute, to a smaller extent, to an earlier onset among males, while it is not associated with severity of PANSS psychopathology neither among male, nor among female patients.