Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression levels and clinical significance of inflammatory cytokines in patients with pterygium complicated with dry eye. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 103 patients with primary pterygium （76 cases of pterygium complicated with dry eye and 27 cases of pterygium alone） were assigned into the study group, and 30 cases of dry eyes and 30 healthy subjects were allocated into the control groups. A portion of 10 μl of basic tear samples were collected from all subjects. The expression levels of six cytokines （IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1, MMP-9, VEGF and bFGF） were quantitatively measured by liquid chip. Results VEGF expression level was significantly up-regulated in the pterygium complicated with dry eye group. The expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1 and MMP-9 in the tear from patients with pterygium complicated with dry eye and those with pterygium alone were significantly up-regulated than those in healthy counterparts. In these two groups, the expression levels of bFGF were significantly up-regulated than that in the control groups （all P < 0.05/6）. The expression level of IL-6 in the tear was positively correlated with the severity of dry eye. The expression levels of VEGF, bFGF, MMP-1 and MMP-9 in the tear were positively associated with the activity of pterygium（all P < 0.05）. Conclusions The pathogenic cytokines of dry eye and pterygium are highly consistent, which may be the cause and pathological mechanism for the common high incidence of dry eye and pterygium. Timely management of ocular surface inflammation can improve the clinical efficacy in the treatment of these two diseases.