OBJECTIVE To investigate whether extracellular matrix (ECM) influences the proliferation of cultured lens epithelial cells (LECs). METHODS Porcine LECs were cultured in F-12 nutrient mixture supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for 24 or 96 hours on the dishes coated with laminin, fibronectin, type I collagen, or type IV collagen. As a control, LECs were cultured on uncoated dishes. Twenty-four or ninety-six hours later, the number of cells was determined. We determined the proliferation ratio of the number of cells 96 hours after plating to the number of cells 24 hours after plating. This ratio was used to assess the cell proliferation. RESULTS The ratio of the LECs on the uncoated dishes was 2.3. Dish coating with type I or type IV collagen, and fibronectin significantly increased this ratio (4.0, 3.5, and 3.0, respectively), whereas coating with laminin did not affect this ratio (2.5). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that ECM influences cultured porcine LEC proliferation.