Abstract: In recent years, due to the increasing quantity of diabetes mellitus patients and the progressively earlier age of onset, the number of young patients with diabetes mellitus has been significantly increased, and the impaired or lost vision has seriously affected the quality of life of these patients. Compared with the elderly patients, young counterparts with diabetic retinopathy have relatively unique clinical manifestations, which should arouse the attention of ophthalmologists. In this article, the research progress on the epidemiological, clinical characteristics, risk factors and treatment of diabetic retinopathy in young patients were reviewed.