AIM:To investigate retinal edema at posterior pole after scleral buckling surgery for retinal detachment (RD). METHODS:Retinal thickness analyzer(RTA) was used to measure the retinal thickness at the posterior pole in 38 eyes of 38 patients after scleral buckling surgery for RD. RESULTS:Average follow-up time was 72.61±57.27 days after scleral buckling surgery.The foveal average thickness of RD subjects was 168.03±38.27μm with no significant difference compared with the fellow eyes (P>0.05).The posteriorpole average thickness of RD subjects was 175.50±33.85μm with no significant difference compared with the fellow eyes (P>0.05).The posteriorpole maximum thickness of RD subjects was 310.18±158.40μm with significant difference compared with the fellow eyes (P<0.01). CONCLUSION:Through the RTA the occurrence of retinal edema of the posterior pole can be accurately measured and observed, posterior pole retinal localized edema persists 2 months after scleral buckling for retinal detachment. The metamorphopsia of patients are related with it during this period of time after surgery. It still needs a very long-term follow-up to observe withdrawal time of retinal edema. Moreover, in this period of time, it is considered for the appropriate intervention to improve visual function.