Abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of text nativization and schema-based pre-reading activities including brainstorming and K-W-L (what I Know, what I Want to know, what I Learned) chart on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. Four target language texts including two expository and two narrative texts were nativized into Iranian culture following Alptekin's (2006) definition of cultural nativization. Four groups of intermediate EFL learners, including 47 males and 53 females, participated in the study. In a quasi-experimental research design, the first group of students read two expository and two narrative nativized texts with some pre-reading activities. The second group read the same texts without any pre-reading activities. The third group read the 2 expository and 2 narrative texts in their original forms and with the same pre-reading activities. Finally, the fourth group read the same original texts without any pre-reading activities. They then answered true/false and multiple-choice comprehension questions. The statistical analysis indicated a better comprehension of the first and second groups, who received nativized texts. The results clearly demonstrated that cultural nativization has a facilitative effect on comprehension of the texts. However, the pre-reading activities did not significantly contribute to the comprehension of the texts. In short, nativization had a more powerful impact than pre-reading activities on reading comprehension. The findings of the study bear implications for EFL teachers, learners and materials designers.