Diabetic retinopathy(DR)has always been considered as microangiopathy. However, a large number of studies have confirmed that DR can not only cause retinal angiopathy, but also cause retinal neurodegeneration. Recently, more and more evidence also shows that retinal neurodegeneration occurred before retinal angiopathy in the early stage of DR, and retinal neurodegeneration may be involved in the occurrence and development of microvascular abnormalities. At present, the mechanism of diabetic retinal neurodegeneration is not very clear. This paper reviews the research progress on the mechanism of diabetic retinal neurodegeneration in recent years.