Purpose To analyse the maculopathy in 597 eyes of 317 cases with diabetic retinopathy,and to explore the classification and visual prognosis. Methods Using fluorescein angiography to examine the extend of capillary leakage and foveal avascular zone as well as the extent of the capillary closure in macular area. Results ①Diabetic maculopathy was divided into 5 types,among 597 eyes,no leakage type 154 eyes (25.8%),focal edema type 188 eyes(31.5%),diffuse edema type (including cystoid edema)231 eyes(40.0%),ischemic type 12 eyes(2.0%) and proli ferative type was 4 eyes(0.7%).② There is close relationship between the classification and visual prognosis.such as when visual acuity was ge;0.5,no leakage type was 99.4%, focal edema type was 83.0%,diffuse edema type was 28.4%,ischemic type was 8.4%,and proliferative type was 0.5%.the visual acuity of cystoid edema was worse than diffuse edema only 20.3%.③The stage and visual prognosis:The higher the stage the worse the visual prognosis.if visual acuityge;0.5, 1 stage in 96.2% eyes,2 stage in 84.8%,3 stage in 53.2%,4 stage in 37.2%,5 stage in 12.5%. Conclusion Diabetic maculopathy is the main cause of visual impairment in diabetic retinopathy. Different type has different visual prognosis.macular edema and cystoid edema are the main factors to decrease visual acuity and could be treated by focal and grid laser photocoagulation to prevent visual loss. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,2000,16:144-146)