AIM:To investigate the current situation of the 3-year old preschool children’s visual acuity and refraction in Yuhuatai district of Nanjing,and compare between urban and suburban areas,gender,visual inspection method·METHODS:A sample of 1519 children(3 years old)which were selected randomly were examined by the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart and Suresight Vision Screener handheld autorefractor·RESULTS:Totally 1406 children received vision examination of visual acuity chart and the ratio of subnormal visual acuity was 12.30%,while 1501 children were used for preschool vision screening,the ratio of refractive error was 12.92%.Significant difference was found in children’s refractive error rate between urban and rural areas(6.86% vs 6.06%,P<0.01)·CONCLUSION:Ametropia is the most familiar disease in kindergarten.It is necessary to check the preschool children’s visual acuity and refraction,so as to find latent problems,and to prospect the developmental trend and offer evidences for early intervention.