Objective To analyze the effects of case management on the social support and family burden of direct caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in the community. Methods A total of 40 direct caregivers of patients with schizophrenia who met the research criteria in Nanlang Town Zhongshan City where the case management service were provided were selected into case management group. According to the economic and demographic matching principle， another 40 direct caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Minzhong Town Zhongshan City where basic management service were provided were randomly selected into control group. The patients and their families in the case management group received community case management， while the patients and their families in the control group was provided national standard basic management services. The two groups were followed up for one year. The Social Support Rating Scale（ SSRS） and Family Burden Scale（ FBS） were applied at the time of admission and the second year. The difference of the social support and disease burden of the two groups were compared. Results The added value of the case management group was better than that of the basic management group in objective support， subjective support， support utilization and SSRS total points（ t=5.84，5.02，7.41，10.89，respectively； P＜0.01）. The subtraction score of the case management group was better than that of the basic management group in the family financial burden， household daily activities， family relationships， family members' mental health and FBS total points（ t=-4.86， -2.73，-3.16，-3.80，-4.37， respectively； P ＜ 0.01）. Conclusions Case management can better promote social support for family members of schizophrenic patients and reduce family burden relative to basic management.