Objective      To set up a Chinese questionnaire for quality of life in vision-related patients with refractive error

and to investigate the changes of the quality of life after laser assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK).       Methods      After the 42-item National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life Questionnaire (NEI-RQL-42) was translated into Chin

ese

and its validity and reliability were investigated by surveying 126 patients undergoing LASIK in our department from November 2010 to May 2011. Except for assessing vision and refraction

such as uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA)

best corrected visual acuity (BCVA)

before and after surgery

the quality of life of these patients were applied with the Chinese version of NEI-RQL-42 instrument.       Results      The systematic protocols were set as forward translations

backward translation and cultural adaptations. And the Cronbach α coefficient was defined as ＞0.7

while the intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.83 to 0.87 as estimated by test-retest reliability. The Chinese version of the NEI-RQL-42 was confirmed with sound content validity

structure validity and discriminant validity. LASIK resulted in great improvement in BCVA

which was restored and superior to that before surgery (

P

0.05). Among the items of the questionnaire

except for the items of glare and symptoms

the scores of all items were increased after operation. The most obvious changed items were activity limitations

diurnal fluctuations

dependence on correction

suboptimal correction

appearance and satisfaction with correction（

P

0.05). The integrated score was 62.27±30.76 before operation

and was 81.64±25.38 and 82.14±23.27 respectively in 1 and 3 month after operation. The quality of life was greatly improved in 1 and 3 month after operation when compared with that before operation (

P

0.05).       Conclusion      The Chinese version of the NEI-RQL-42 is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the quality of life after LASIK. LASIK improves quality of life in patients with refractive error significantly.