AIM: To quantitatively investigate the gene expression of transforming growth factor-β type I receptor (TβR I) and trans- forming growth factor-β type II receptor (TβR II) in rat retina. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were chosen in this research. Gene expression was detected quantitatively by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. RESULTS: The expression level of TβR I and TβR II were 0.00034±0.00013 and 0.0001±0.00005, respectively. The expression level of TβR I was obviously higher than that of TβR II in the rat retina with statistical significance (P <0.01). The ratio of TβR I /TβR II was 3.9±1.7. CONCLUSION: Real time quantitative RT-PCR is an effective method to detect differential expression genes in retina. The expression change of TβR I and TβR II may play an important role in the pathogenesis of retinopathy, which need further investigation on its significance in the development of proliferation retinopathy.