Diabetic retinopathy(DR)is a chronic retinopathy secondary to diabetes that can cause permanent loss of vision in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The occurrence of DR is associated with retinal microvascular dysfunction, retinal tissue edema, bleeding, and secondary neovascular proliferation. Studies have shown that patients with diabetes have high expression of visfatin in adipose tissue, liver and kidney, and that the factor may be present in retinal tissue, which has a certain regulatory effect on the development of diabetic retinopathy. This review focuses on the relationship between visfatin and diabetic retinopathy.