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M.D. Associate Profesoor, Selcuk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology, Konya/TURKEY Diabetic macular edema (DME) appears due to fluid leakage into the retinal tissue of the macula as a result of abnormallly permeable retinal capillaries and the related visual loss has a negative impact on the quality of life. The most significant risc factors are duration of diabetes, insüline use, glucose regulation, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and nephropathy. Three factors are important in the pathogenesis: Impairment of blood retinal barrier, effect of vasoactive factors like vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), protein kinase C, heparin, histamine and changes in the vitreoretinal surface. These factors together with the large difussion distance and disfunction of retinal pigment epithelium give rise to DME. For DME classified into retinovascular (focal/diffuse/ischemic/mix) and tractional subgroups according to ethiopathogenesis and subclinical/clinical subgroups according to surface properties; the most efficient treatment already appears to avoid changes in the metabolic memory related to hyperglycemia before clinical overt DME develops. Keywords : Diabetic macula edema, risc factors, pathogenesis, classification