Objective To examine the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, thus assessing the role of mechanism of contact inhibition playing in the process of experimental retinal detachment and reattachemnt.Methods Retinal detachment was produced in 72 cats by subretinal injection of 0.25% solution of healon through a micropipette three weeks after extracapsular lens extraction and vitrectomy. Some of the detached retinae were reattached 24 hours later. At different time, the cats were killed and eye globes were fixed and embeded in paraffin. Histologic sections were processed for immunohistochemistry examination using an antibody to detect PCNA protein. Labeled RPE cells were identified, and the proliferation was quantified in detached and un-detached retinae of detachment group, and also in reattached retinae of reattachment group. The comparsion of PCNA-labeled RPE cells in different groups were analyzed by ANOVA. Results In detached regions of detachment group, PCNA-expression of RPE cells occured within 24 hours, and reached a maximum after 5-6 days, then gradually declined to barely detectable levels after 20 days. Similar tendency was found in reattached retinae, but the number of PCNA-labeled RPE cells was obviously small. Fewer PCNA-labeled RPE cells were found in regions of un-detached retinae in detachment group. The difference of these three groups was significant.Conclusion Proliferation of RPE cells is induced when they lose contact with neural retina, but inhibited after neural retina reattached to RPE cells. It suggests that the mechanism of contact inhibition plays a role in the proliferative process after retinal detachment and reattachment. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis，2003，19：20-23)