Objective To explore the distribution rules and characteristics of TCM syndromes of retinopathy in the type 2 diabetes.Methods The clinical data of 256 patients of type 2 diabetes with retinopathy were collected.According to the syndrome differentiation of TCM

the patients were differentiated into four syndromes as deficiency of both qi and yin

yin deficiency of the liver and kidney

qi deficiency of the spleen

and blood stasis.The correlation of the syndromes with the course of disease and the laboratory indices（including blood glucose

blood pressure

blood fat

and body mass index

etc.） was studied.Results Of the 256 patients

there were 155 cases with the deficiency of both qi and yin

being 60.55%

significantly higher than the percentage of other syndromes（P<0.05）;the simple type of retinopathy was mainly the deficiency of both qi and yin

and proliferating type was mainly the blood stasis

compared with the other syndromes

the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）;in those with course of disease shorter than 5 years

the deficiency of both qi and yin was the highest in percentage

in those with the course of disease 5 to 10 years

the blood stasis was the highest in percentage

while in those with the course of disease longer than 10 years

qi deficiency of the spleen was the highest in percentage. The fasting blood-glucose（FBG） and postprandial 2h blood glucose（P2hBG） of the patients with deficiency of both qi and yin were significantly lower than those of the patients with other syndromes（P<0.01）

the glycosylated hemoglobin（HbA1c） of the patients with blood stasis was significantly higher than that of the patients with other syndromes（P<0.01）

and the triglyceride（TG） of the patients with qi deficiency of the spleen was significantly higher than that of the patients with other syndromes（P<0.01）.Conclusion Deficiency of both qi and yin and blood stasis are the basic syndromes of retinopathy in the type 2 diabetes.TCM syndromes are correlated with the course of disease

stage of disease

and laboratory indices to a certain degree.