ObjectiveTo observe the cilioretinal artery and its relationship with central visual loss in central retinal artery occlusion(CRAO) patients. MethodsA total of 140 CRAO patients (140 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The patients included 83 males and 57 females. The age was ranged from 42 to 75 years old, with an average of (55.70±22.20) years. All the patients were affected unilaterally, including 79 right eyes and 61 left eyes. The disease duration was from 1 to 10 days, with a mean of (4.7±3.9) hours. Central vision and fluorescence fundus angiography were measured for all patients. The central visual loss was divided into 3 types: mild (≥0.1), moderate (finger counting to 0.08) and severe (no light perception to hand movement). The number, length and location of cilioretinal artery were observed. The correlation between cilioretinal artery and central visual loss was analyzed. ResultsThere were 41 eyes (29.3%) with cilioretinal artery, which including 13 eyes (31.7%) with ≥3 cilioretinal arteries, 23 eyes (56.1%) with 2 cilioretinal arteries, 5 eyes (12.2%) with 1 cilioretinal arteries. The cilioretinal artery was within 1 disk diameter (DD) in length and not reached the macular area in 37 eyes (90.2%), was more than 1DD in length and reached the macular foveal area in 4 eyes (9.8%). The cilioretinal artery located in the temporal side of optic disk in 29 eyes (70.7%), and in other quadrant in 12 eyes (29.3%). The distribution of central visual loss degree as follow: mild in 15 eyes (10.7%), moderate in 50 eyes (35.7%), severe in 75 eyes (53.6%). The difference of central visual loss in the eyes with or without cilioretinal arteries was not significant (χ2=0.16, P>0.05). ConclusionsCilioretinal artery exists in 29.3% CRAO eyes. There was no close correlation between cilioretinal artery and central visual loss.