bjective To observe the therapeutic effect of laser photocoagulation on diabetic retinopathy (DR)at different stages.Methods A total of 534 eyes of 304 patients with DR diagnosed by fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) were enrolled in this study. In the 534 eyes, 92 with nonproliferative DR (NPDR) had the bestcorrected visual acuity(BCVA) of 0.52plusmn;0.32,108 with preproliferative DR (PPDR) had the BCVA of 0.49plusmn;0.23,196 with early PDR had the BCVA of 0.20plusmn;0.31,and 138 with highrisk PDR had the BCVA of 0.17plusmn;0.22. According to the rules of ETDRS, retinal photocoagu1ation,pan retinal photocoagu1ation or extrapanretinal photocoagu1ation were performed on the paitents with NPDR,PPDR,and highrisk PDR,respectivelyThe patients were followed up for 10-18 months after the operations and the results of the examinations at the last time were regarded as the criteria for judgement. The examination of BCVA and ocular fundus and FFA were performed with the time interval of 3 months.The judgement for BCVA was(1)improved:improved ge;2 lines;(2) kept still: changed within 2 lines;(3)decreased:decreased ge;2 lines.And the effect on BCVA was positve when it was improved or kept still.The judgement for the therapeutic effect on DR was:retinal edeama was alleviated,leakage of hemorrhage was obsorbed,microaneurysm disappeared or decreased, neovascularization (NV) was relieved completely or partly,nonperfusion area disappeared or narrowed, and no new NV or nonperfusion area came into being. Results After the operations, BCVA in NPDR,PPDR and early PDR groups was improved or kept still in 73(79.3%),83(76.9%),and 146 eyes (74.5%), respectively,without any statistical difference among these three groups(P>0.05).BCVA in highrisk PDR group was significant lower than that in the NPDR,PPDR,and early PDR groups (P<0.05). The positive rate of therapeutic effect on DR was 89.1%,85.2%,82.7% in NPDR,PPDR,and early PDR groups, respectively without any statistical difference among the groups(P>0.05). The positive rate of therapeutic effect on DR in highrisk PDR group was significant lower than that in the NPDR,PPDR,and early PDR groups(P<0.05). Conclusion The prognosis of DR at different stages after laser photocoagulation is different;timely and effective laser photocoagulation is important to prevent the development of the disease and decrease the blindness rate.