OBJECTIVE Epidemiological and clinical study of retinal detachment associated with atopic dermatitis. METHODS A multicenter retrospective study. RESULTS We analyzed 417 eyes of 348 patients operated on during the 5 years from 1989 to 1993 and followed up for more than 6 months by vitreo-retina specialists in 33 hospitals throughout Japan. The number of eyes operated increased yearly from 42 in 1989 to 132 in 1993. These were 2.3% of the average number of the eyes operated on for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment during the same period, but when restricted to the Kanto area or further to Tokyo only, the percentage was as high as 3.8% and 4.7% respectively. Clinical characteristics of retinal detachment previously reported, such as traumatic slapping or rubbing of the lids by patients as the most possible pathogenetic factor, and high incidence of cataract and proliferative vitreoretinopathy, were confirmed. The primary surgical procedure was scleral buckling in 78% of the cases and vitreous surgery in 22%, and initial and final reattachment rates were 75.3% and 92.6%, respectively.