Purpose To investigate retinoic acid (RA) induced apoptosis in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Methods 10-5、10-6、10-7 mol/L were added to cultured PRE cells.Aridine orange fluorescence and TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labelling(TUNEL) techniques were used to observe apoptotic changes. Resultss 10-5、10-6、10-7 mol/L RA induced apoptosis in RPE cells.Cell shringkage,chromatin condensation and nuclear DNA fragmentation of RPE cells were observed by TUNEL technique.When 10-7、10-6、10-5mol/L RA treated RPE cells for 5 days,apoptotic index(AI)was 36.9%、4409% and 61.4% respectively,and 48.0%、59.9%、74.2% for 6 days.At the same concentration of RA,AI increased when time prolonged．At the same day,AI increased when the concentration of RA rose.There was significant difference in the results(Plt;0.05). Conclusion Our results showed that RA-induced apoptosis in RPE cells was detected with a good dose and time response. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,1998,14:153-155)