The retina is a highly specialized tissue with unique structure and adaptability. Maintaining dynamic balance in all different types of retinal cells is essential for maintaining vision. The retina may be exposed to a variety of environmental damage such as light-induced damage, and over the course of evolution, retinal cells have developed adaptive responses to various injuries that together restore dynamic cellular homeostasis and increase the resistance of the tissue to further damage. Howecer, excessive exposure to light can cause a series of pathological changes in photoreceptors, retinal ganglion cells(RGC), retinal glial cells and retinal pigment epithelium(RPE)cells, such as increased expression of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and Ca²⁺ in mitochondria, apoptosis, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy and inflammation, etc., leading to irreversible damage to the retina. In the present article, the possible pathogenesis and current related research progress of light-induced injury were reviewed, in order to provide research directions for the prevention and treatment of retinal light injury.