Working memory plays a crucial role in controlling visual selective attention, as demonstrated by neuroimaging and psychological experiments. Participants performed a selective attention task where they had to ignore distractor faces while remembering a sequence of digits in the same (low load) or different (high load) order. Higher working memory load increased interference from distractor faces and increased face-related activity in the visual cortex, confirming working memory's role in attention control. Despite extensive research on attention and working memory, their interaction has been underexplored. Recent studies suggest working memory may influence selective attention, but evidence is limited. This study shows a direct causal role for working memory in attention control. The study found that higher working memory load increased distractor processing, contrary to perceptual load effects. Behavioral and fMRI results showed that high working memory load led to greater interference from distractor faces and increased activity in visual areas involved in face processing. These findings support the hypothesis that working memory is essential for maintaining stimulus priorities, reducing irrelevant distractor processing. Functional MRI revealed that high working memory load increased activity in the fusiform gyrus and extrastriate visual cortex, areas associated with face processing. These results confirm that working memory controls selective attention by maintaining stimulus priorities, reducing the intrusion of irrelevant distractors. The interaction between working memory and selective attention was evident in both behavioral and neural data, supporting the theory that working memory is critical for attention control in the human brain.Working memory plays a crucial role in controlling visual selective attention, as demonstrated by neuroimaging and psychological experiments. Participants performed a selective attention task where they had to ignore distractor faces while remembering a sequence of digits in the same (low load) or different (high load) order. Higher working memory load increased interference from distractor faces and increased face-related activity in the visual cortex, confirming working memory's role in attention control. Despite extensive research on attention and working memory, their interaction has been underexplored. Recent studies suggest working memory may influence selective attention, but evidence is limited. This study shows a direct causal role for working memory in attention control. The study found that higher working memory load increased distractor processing, contrary to perceptual load effects. Behavioral and fMRI results showed that high working memory load led to greater interference from distractor faces and increased activity in visual areas involved in face processing. These findings support the hypothesis that working memory is essential for maintaining stimulus priorities, reducing irrelevant distractor processing. Functional MRI revealed that high working memory load increased activity in the fusiform gyrus and extrastriate visual cortex, areas associated with face processing. These results confirm that working memory controls selective attention by maintaining stimulus priorities, reducing the intrusion of irrelevant distractors. The interaction between working memory and selective attention was evident in both behavioral and neural data, supporting the theory that working memory is critical for attention control in the human brain.