Abstract: Objective To assess the quality of Chinese clinical guidelines and consensus on dry eye, identifying their scientific basis, practicality, and credibility to enhance the quality of clinical guidelines related to dry eye and promote the effective application of scientific evidence in clinical practice. Design Cross-sectional study. Participants Twelve of the most recent Chinese clinical guidelines and consensus published between 2020 and 2024, including one guideline and eleven expert consensuses. Methods The quality of the guidelines was evaluated using the internationally recognized clinical guideline assessment tool, AGREE II. Standardized scores across six domains (Scope and Purpose, Clarity, Stakeholder Involvement, Rigor of Development Applicability, and Editorial Independence) were calculated using the range method and subsequently analyzed. The reliability of the evaluators was tested using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Main Outcomes Measures Standardized scores from the six domains. Results The ICC for the assessments by three evaluators of the twelve Chinese clinical guidelines and consensus was above 0.80, indicating reliable evaluation outcomes. Aggregate analysis revealed strong performance in the domains of Scope and Purpose (82.26%±4.06%) and Clarity (80.40%±5.44%). However, improvements were necessary in the domains of Stakeholder Involvement (51.08%±8.44%), Rigor of Development [30.91% (26.39%, 32.64%)], Applicability (57.99%±8.23%), and Editorial Independence [47.22% (47.22%, 47.22%)]. The lowest score was in the domain of Rigor of Development, primarily due to insufficient comprehensive and systematic evidence retrieval, lack of evidence evaluation, and non-transparent methods in forming recommendations. Conclusion Recently, Chinese clinical guidelines and consensus on dry eye have demonstrated strong performance in the domains of scope, purpose, and clarity. Moving forward, it is essential that the development of similar guidelines emphasizes rigorous methodological design, ensures transparency in the process, adheres to standardized reporting, and promotes diverse stakeholder involvement to enhance the overall quality and clinical applicability of dry eye guidelines in China. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2025, 34: 194-201)

Key words:  clinical practice guidelines, quality assessment, dry eye