37 diabetic patients and 49 normal subjects were examined with Goldmann-Weekers dark adaptometer.The results showed that the absolute thresholds of dark adaptation in each group of diabetic patients were higher than those in normal controls. The more severe retinopathy was, the higher was the absolute threshold.The patients with more damaged visual acuity showed worse dark adaptation. However the dark adaptation in patients with good visual acuity was also abnormal.lt is suggested that dark adaptation is more sensitive than visual acuity in determining the visual function of diabetic patients.