The records of 74 patients--young and almost exclusively males--with retinal detachment due to ocular penetration were reviewed to study the characteristics and surgical results of this type of traumatic retinal detachment. There was a high incidence of industrial and domestic accidents. The incidence and degree of myopia were significantly lower than in nontraumatic cases of retinal detachment. The time interval between the injury and the detection of the retinal detachment was variable. Many of the eyes with longer latent intervals had classic signs of traumatic retinal detachment. The most common type of retinal break was a dialysis in the oral zone at the posterior vitreous base border. The most common cause of these retinal breaks was severe traction from contracting vitreous bands and membranes that followed the loss of vitreous gel from the eye. Surgical results were relatively poor; recurrence was common because of progressive vitreous pathology. Postoperative traction on the vitreous base by the continued shrinkage of vitreous membranes was noted in 50% of the eyes that contained such membranes preoperatively.