OBJECTIVE To explore the relationship between acquisition of new spectacles after routine cataract surgery and vision-related activity limitation (VRAL) postoperatively. METHODS This cohort study with intervention (survey) included 1329 patients in Sweden who had undergone a second-eye cataract surgery during March 2013. Data from the Swedish National Cataract Register were used, including evaluations of VRAL through the Catquest-9SF questionnaire before and 3 months after cataract surgery. Five months after the second-eye surgery, patients completed another five-item questionnaire about spectacle use preoperatively and postoperatively including an item on surgeons' advice about the need for spectacles. These responses were linked to the Rasch-analysed Catquest-9SF data to identify correlations with VRAL. RESULTS A total of 1239 patients finally participated in the study after excluding those who did not fulfil the inclusion criteria. Patients who were advised about the need for spectacles postoperatively (n = 387) had a greater (p = 0.039) improvement in the postoperative VRAL compared to patients who were not advised (n = 691). Patients who obtained new spectacles postoperatively (n = 512) also had greater improvement (p = 0.032) compared to those who did not (n = 724). CONCLUSIONS The average improvements in the VRAL after surgery were significantly higher for patients who obtained new distance spectacles postoperatively and for patients who were informed about the need for spectacles by their practitioners.