Objective To investigate the effect of micropulse di ode laser treatment on the retina in Brown-Norway rats (BN Rats). Methods 130 eyes of BN rats received irradiance of different powers of micr opulse diode laser with 810nm wavelength through a contact lens. Fundus color photography and fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) were performed on day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days after treatment. Animals were sacrificed on 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 days separately for historical study. The expression of heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70) in the retina was observed with immunohistochemistry. Cell apoptosis of retina tissue was examined by TdT mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Results (1) No change was found in no visible reaction laser spots by light microscope. High duty cycles with threshold and suprathreshold en ergies can produce severe damage even to the inner nuclear layer. (2) HSP-70 ex pression was markedly increased in the inner nuclear layer at 1d after micropulse diode laser. This increase in HSP-70 expression peaked at day 3 whereafter a decline near to normal at 2 weeks was detected. (3) Apoptosis was detected mainl y in retinal pigment epithelium, outer nuclear layer, inner nuclear layer and ev en choroid by TUNEL after micropulse diode laser treatment. The TUNEL-positive cells increased with the laser power. Maximum TUNEL-positive cells could be seen at day 3 after treatment. Conclusions The retinal injury has positive relationship with laser energy. The thermal damage is confined to the RPE and spare the neurosensory retina when using threshold power (50mW) with 50% duty-cycle and supra-threshold power with high duty-cycle (100mW，5%～15%). The hyper expression of HSP-70 and apoptosis mechanism may play an important role in the tissue repair process. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,2008,24:122-126)