Abstract: Myopia has gained increasing interest in recent years, particularly because of its increase in prevalence across populations worldwide. Previous study suggests that the refractive statue of the peripheral retina may influence the onset and development of central refractive errors. To better understand the association between peripheral refraction and myopia development, precious and rapid measurement of refraction over the visual field is fundamental for all the studies. This review compares several refractive techniques frequently used for offaxis measurement, introduces their advantages and limits, and provides demand for the perfect instrument specialized for peripheral refraction, which may be of help for the future research work.  (Int Rev Ophthalmol, 2013, 37: 292-296)