AIM:To evaluate the corneal surgical indications and histopathological classification of corneal specimens in West China Hospital.METHODS:Retrospective analysis was performed on 1082 eyes suffering from corneal disease diagnosed from January 1990 to December 2009 at pathological department in West China Hospital.RESULTS:A total of 1082 corneal specimens were identified,the constituent ratio of which was as follows:corneal scar 31.42%(340/1082),keratitis 14.51%(157/1082),keratoconus 12.38%(134/1082),choristoma 12.29%(133/1082),bullous keratopathy 5.64%(61/1082),corneal scar associated with keratitis 5.45%(59/1082),epicorneal fibrotic proliferation and neovascularization with or without inflammatory cells infiltration 3.97%(43/1082),corneal degeneration 2.59%(28/1082),squamous cell carcinoma 2.13%(23/1082),corneal dystrophy 1.94%(21/1082),atypical hyperplasia 1.66%(18/1082),corneal perforation 1.39%(15/1082),papilloma 1.02%(11/1082),nevus 0.92%(10/1082),pseudo-epitheliomatous hyperplasia 0.65%(7/1082),ICE syndrome 0.46%(5/1082),intraepithelial epithelioma 0.46%(5/1082),malignant melanoma 0.46%(5/1082),keratinization or dyskeratosis 0.46%(5/1082),calcifying epithelioma 0.09%(1/1082),amyloid degeneration 0.09%(1/1082).There was an obvious increase in the number of operation from 2000 to 2009 compared with that from 1990 to 1999(912/170).211 eyes was from childen,in which congenital choristoma and corneal scar accounted for 44.55% and 36.49% respectively.CONCLUSION:The leading reasons for keratoplasty in West China Hospital are corneal scar,keratitis,keratoconus and choristoma.