Adult Coats disease is characterized by abnormal expansion of retinal capillaries, often accompanied by massive lipid exudation and exudative retinal detachment. Unlike Coats disease in young children, adult Coats disease is mostly limited to peripheral retina, with slow progress and better prognosis. Adult Coats disease should be identified with Coats-like diseases such as exudative age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, obsolete retinal vein occlusion, idiopathic macular telangiectasia 1, obsolete posterior uveitis, retinal vasculitis, or acute retinal necrosis. Because the pathogenesis of Coats disease is not clear, it lacks specific treatment measures for the cause of disease. The purpose of simple or combined laser photocoagulation, freezing, vitreous intravitreal injection against vascular endothelial growth factor drugs or triamcinolone and surgery is to eliminate abnormal blood vessels and exudation, maintain visual function, which can also improve retinal detachment and prevent neovascular glaucoma and other complications. To explore the similarities and differences of adult Coats disease with Coats disease in young children, to further promote the study of the pathogenesis of adult Coats disease and to provide new targets for its treatment are the direction of future research.