Schizencephaly is defined as a cerebral malformation of the CNS with various clefts of the cerebral cortex. We report on two patients referred to our department with neurological abnormalities. In both cases the cranial sonography already provided for the clinical picture of schizencephaly. A MR-scan confirmed the diagnosis. In addition one of the patients proved to have a migrational disorder. The analysis of these cases and the relevant literature point out how difficult the etiologic differentiation is and, on the other hand, how various the manifestations of the malformation can be. The important role of cranial sonography as a screening method is shown.