Objective To investigate the characteristics and risk factors of optic nerve atrophy in eyes with complicated retinal detachment after silicone oil tamponade during the procedure of vitreoretinal operation. Methods The clinical data of 97 patients with complicated retinal detachment who had optic nerve atrophy after silicone oil tamponade during the procedure of vitreoretinal operation were an alyzed retrospectively. Logistic regression analysis by SPSS statistical software was used to analyze the factors like age, disease history, primary diseases, preoperative ocular condition, complications in and after the operation, the time taking out the silicone oil, and emulsification of the silicone oil, and Ple;0.05 was considered to be the symbol of significant difference. Results All of the affected eyes had optic discs with clear border, including paler optic disc in 65 eyes, pale one in 21 eyes, and paler optic disc with enlargement of the cup/disc (ge; 0.6) in 11 eyes. The result of logistic regression analysis showed that the intraocular pressure (P=0.022) and the visual acuity (P=0.001) during the silicone oil removal were in the equation. Conclusion The risk factor of optic nerve atrophy is the chronic increase of intraocular pressure after silicone oil tamponade. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis, 2006, 22: 305-307)