AIM:To explore the clinical application of modified autologous corneal limbal stem cell transplantation in treatment of early stage pterygium.METHODS:Totally 88 cases(100 eyes) with early stage pterygium were randomly divided into two groups.Group A(42 cases,50 eyes) were treated with modified autologous corneal limbal stem cell transplantation;group B(46 cases,50 eyes) were treated with traditional methods.The operation time,duration of postoperative discomfort,survival ratio of graft and recurrence rate of the two groups were compared.RESULTS:Compared with group B,group A had shorter operative time,shorter duration of postoperative discomfort,higher survival ratio of graft and lower recurrence rate.CONCLUSION:Compared with traditional methods,the use of modified methods has short operative time,short duration of postoperative discomfort,high survival ratio of graft and lower recurrence rate,which is worth popularizing.