Abstract： Objective To study the change and the correlation of serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecuh-1(sVCAM-1)level with diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods 60 type 2 diabetic patients were selected for the study through the examination of ophthalmoscope and/or fundus fluorescence angiography by ophthalmologist.Diabetic patients were divided into three main groups:No signs of diabetic retinopathy(NDR)(n=20);Background DR(BDR)(n=20)Proliferative DR(PDR)(n=20).Healthy individuals matching sex and age of the patients were used as controls(n=20);Serum sVCAM-1 level was measured by ELISA,compared in diabetes without DR,with BDR,with PDR.These levels were compared with those of 20 controls.Results The serum level of sVCAM-1 in the DM patients with PDR or BDR and those without DR were significantly higher than those in healthy controls(all P＜0.001);Serum level of sVCAM-1 in PDR groups were higherthan those in DM patients with BDR or patients without DR(all P＜0.001);There was no difference between the patients with BDR and those without DR (P＞0.05).(4)In the DM patients,there was a positive correlation between serum sVCAM-1 and the course of diseases(r=0.338,P＜0.05),but no relationship with HbA1C,FBG,CHO,TG,LDL and INS.Conclusion Increased serum level of sVCAM-1 in different stage of DR patients suggested that they hagbe play an important role in the development of DR,and may assess the severity of diabetic retinopathy.The measuremem of serum sVCAM-1 levels in type 2 diabetic patients could be clinically useful for early diagnosis or treatment of diabetic retinopathy.