Objective: To explore the causes of low vision after cataract surgery. Methods: Patients who underwent cataract surgery at Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and the Chinese university of Hong Kong ( JSIEC) from October 2011 to March 2013, whose fundus status could not be seen before surgery, and the best corrected visual acuity <0.3 in the first week after surgery, underwent a series of detailed ocular examinations, including visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp examination, fundus examination, fundus photography and optical coherence tomography. If no organic lesions of the retina were found, then visual evoked potential examination and visual field examination were performed. Two doctors analyzed the examination results of the examination, made the diagnosis of different fundus diseases, and statistically analyzed the causes of low vision after cataract surgery. Results: A total of 5 608 cataract surgeries were performed in our hospital from October 2011 to March 2013. A total of 49 patients (49 eyes) with best corrected visual acuity worse than 0.3 within postoperative 1 week 20 male and 29 female, 31 right eyes and 18 left eyes, aged (69.11±12.05) years on average. The proportion of low vision after cataract surgery was 0.87%. 12 cases (24.5%) of high myopic chorioretinopathy, 10 cases (20.4%) of ellipsoidal band defect, 8 cases (16.3%) of diabetic retinopathy, 5 cases (10.2%) of macular holes, 4 cases (8.1%) of age-related macular degeneration, 3 cases (6.1%) of macular epiretinal membrane, 1 case (2.0%) of thinning macular retinal thickness, 1 case (2.0%) of retinitis pigmentosa, 1 case of retinoschisis (2.0%), 1 case of branch retinal artery occlusion (2.0%), 1 case of Behcet’s disease (2.0%), and 1 case of ischemic optic neuropathy (2.0%), 1 case of epiretinal membrane (2.0%). Conclusion: Among patients with low vision after cataract surgery, high myopic chorioretinopathy accounts for 24.5%, followed by ellipsoidal band defect, diabetic retinopathy, macular hole, age-related macular degeneration, and macular epiretinal membrane. The use of optical coherence tomography can detect subtle microscopic retinal structural changes that affect vision after cataract surgery. For patients with visible fundus before cataract surgery, routine optical coherence tomography contributes to evaluating the prognosis of the operation, facilitating doctorpatient communication, and improving the degree of surgical satisfaction.