AIM: To evaluate the safety, quality and prospects of day-case cataract surgery performed in a Jiangsu public tertiary hospital METHODS: The general and clinical data for patients who underwent day-case cataract surgery between August 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016 at this hospital were collected. The incidences of intraoperative and postoperative complications, preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs), delayed discharge rate, rate of unplanned re-admission to hospital, and patient satisfaction were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4151 patients received cataract phacoemulsification surgery to correct age-related, congenital, traumatic, or complicated cataracts. Of these, age-related cataracts were the most frequently occurring. Patient age ranged from 18 to 101y and the vast majority of patients were between 60 and 80 years old. Of the 4151 patients, 64.73% (2687/4151) had a systemic disease. The number of patients increased over the years, with the average number of patients per month being 90.4, 124.83, and 183.42 in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The average preoperative BCVA was 0.102±0.057 and average postoperative BCVAs at 1d, 1wk, and 1mo post-surgery were 0.453±0.264, 0.657±0.285, and 0.734±0.244, respectively. For intraoperative complications, 4.12% (171/4151) had posterior capsule rupture, 0.79% (33/4151) had iris or ciliary body injury, and 0.048% (2/4151) had suprachoroidal hemorrhage. For postoperative complications, 4.38% (182/4151) had cornea edema, 7.78% (323/4151) had intraocular hypertension, 0.096% (4/4151) had IOL toxicity syndrome, 0.28% (12/4151) had retained lens cortex, and 0.048% (2/4151) had hyphema. The delayed discharge rate was 0.82% (44/4151) and the unplanned re-admission to the hospital was 0 (0/4151). The patient satisfaction rate was 91.42% (3795/4151). CONCLUSION: Day-case cataract surgery is safe and effective with good prospects for development.