Purpose To evaluate the therapeutic effect of laser-induced chorioretinal venous anastomosis for retinal vein occlusion (RVO)． Methods The investigation included 28 consecutive patients (28 eyes) with RVO．The non-ischemic group 18-cases (18 eyes) we re tre ated with the krypton red laser to induce chorioretinal venous anastomosis， the ischemic group underwent the same therapy and the grid or scattertype photoco agulation at the same time． All of the eyes were followed up for more than 5 mo nths， and with an average period of 6.6 months． Results Seven cases (7 eyes， 38．9%) of the non-ischemic group created successful chorioretinal venous anastomosis， with mean improvement of 4．43plusmn;0．7 8 standard deviation lines of best corrected visual acuity compared to0.19plusmn;0.67 lines for 11 eyes with unsuccessful anastomosis (Plt;0.001)．None of the seven eyes developed to ischemic state． Four of the 11 eyes with unsuccessful anastomosis converted to ischemic type (36.4%) ．Two cases of the ischemic group created successful anastomosis with improvement in visual acuity． The other cases had no change in visual acuity． Conclusion Laser-induced chorioretinal venous anasto mosis is a new therapeutic method for RVO， especially for nonischemic type and successful anastomosis can decrease the conversion rate of the vein occlusion to an ischemic state． (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis, 2001,17:8-11)