AIM:To investigate the incidence of submacular fluid and best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA) after vitrectomy or buckle surgery for macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.METHODS:Thirty-one patients(31 eyes) with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were devided into 2 groups,group A(15 patients,15 eyes) and group B(16 patients,16 eyes).Patients in group A were treated with scleral buckling.Patients in group B were treated with vitrectomy.Patients were examined BCVA as well as optical coherence tomography(OCT) at 1 month,3 and 6 months after surgery with indirect ophthalmoscopy.RESULTS:Indirect ophthalmoscopy indicated that all retinal detachments were reattached at 1 month postoperatively.The BCVA of group B was better than group A at 1 month after surgery,and there was no significant statistical difference between two groups at 3 and 6 months after sugery.Postoperative OCT examination at 1 month showed the incidence of submacular fluid was statistically different between two groups.The submacular fluid was gradually absorbed in group A during the follow-up.CONCLUSION:Submacular fluid often occurs after scleral buckling surgery,but the BCVA of two groups was not different during the long-term follow-up.