In schizophrenia, disrupted perceptual processes are attributed to both hallucinations and delusions in positive symptoms [1, 2]. However, it remains unclear how top-down and bottom-up processes are represented across a visual hierarchy related to distinct symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions, and negative symptoms. Our goal is to identify the visual areas involved in aberrant top-down and bottom-up processes that contribute to distinct symptoms in schizophrenia. To investigate this, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment with a perceptual decision-making task. Participants received probability hints about two objects, viewed a blurred image, and responded to the object identity with confidence using a slider. Using the circular inference model [3] to quantify the influence of top-down and bottom-up processes, we found stronger bottom-up processing in schizophrenia patients with higher negative symptoms. Our fMRI results, based on computational model-based regression analysis, revealed enhanced top-down processing in the fusiform gyrus (higher visual area) in schizophrenia patients, and increased bottom-up processing in V1/V2 in individuals with higher delusion scores. These results suggest distinctive mechanisms underlying perceptual processes in specific visual areas, with greater top-down activity in higher areas in schizophrenia, and increased bottom-up activity in lower areas in individuals with higher delusions. Our study provides new insights into the perceptual imbalances in schizophrenia and identifies distinct visual areas engaged by different symptom profiles, potentially characterizing the broader pathology of schizophrenia.