Phosphorus‐31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (³¹P‐MRS) has gained much interest in schizophrenia research in recent years since it allows the non‐invasive measurement of high‐energy phosphates and phospholipids in vivo. However, until now only differences in metabolite concentrations between certain brain areas of schizophrenic patients and healthy controls have been examined. We investigated the influence of gender on the concentrations of different phosphorus compounds. For this purpose, well‐defined volumes in the frontal lobe of 32 healthy controls and 51 schizophrenic in‐patients were examined with an image selected in vivo spectroscopy (ISIS) sequence on a whole‐body scanner at 1.5 T. Healthy females exhibited increased values of inorganic phosphate (P_i) and decreased values of phosphocreatine (PCr) in comparison to their male counterparts. In schizophrenic patients such gender differences were not present. Thus, the results can be interpreted in the sense that frontal energy demanding processes are enhanced in female compared to male healthy volunteers; schizophrenia seems to reduce these gender differences. Copyright � 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.