Abstract: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common retinal vascular disease and one of the main blinding diseases for people over the age of 50 In recent years, studies have shown that the occurrence of DR is related with several hypothesis such as nonenzymatic glycosylation, activation of protein kinase C, immune or inflammation, polyol pathway, growth factors, oxidative stress/the renninangiotensin system and hemodynamic changes, but the exact mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Recently, the role of inflammatory factors in the development of DR has been attracting the attention of scholars both at domestic and abroad, particularlly the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), adhesion molecules,vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), pigment epitheliumderived factor (PEDF).This article reviews the current studies about the role of inflammatory factors and inflammatory related factors in the pathogenesis of DR.  (Int Rev Ophthalmol, 2014, 38:   356-Posterior I)