Objective To study the major factors which affect quality of life of Chinese patients with diabetic retinopathy,and provide basis raising the patients condition of health and quality of life. Methods Quality of life of 179 patients with different stages of diabetic retinopathy and 30 healthy persons was measuerd by the medical outcomes study 36-item short form health survey(SF-36)and the brief scale of quality of life of WHO(WHOQOL-BREF),then the affectting factors were analysed by step regression. Results The major factors which affect quality of life of patients with diabetic retinopathy included:bilateral visual acuity(BVA),different category of retinopathy,course of disease,economic condition,personality,medical care and age. Conclusion The study suggests that bringing about the transformation from the biologic medical model to bio-psycho-social medical model is important to improve quality of life of the patients with diabetic retionpathy. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,2000,16:141-143)