Retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury (RIRI) is an important pathophysiological basis of diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, central retinal arteriovenous obstruction and some other ischemic retinal diseases. At present, there are several theories about the pathogenesis of RIRI, which included oxidative stress, apoptosis, necrosis, necroptosis, vascular injury and inflammatory reaction. Aim at the above pathogenesis of RIRI, domestic and foreign scholars have put forward a lot of methods in treating RIRI, including anti-radical damage, anti-glutamic acid excitotoxicity, anti-apoptosis, anti-necrosis, anti-necroptosis, protection of tight junctions, protection of endothelial cells, anti-inflammatory response, etc. Although there are a lot of drug research on RIRI, the timing of drug interventions for RIRI is still unclear. It may achieve twice the result with half the effort to determine the most effective treatment time window, and will also play a vital guiding role in the clinical treatment of ophthalmic related diseases.