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As a critical self-protection mechanism to maintain the cellular homeostasis and functions, autophagy plays a significant role in growth, adaptation, tumor suppression, aging, innate and acquired immunity.Recent studies have indicated that autophagy is associated with the occurrence and development of many eye diseases including corneal dystrophy, cataract, glaucoma and retinal diseases.In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), abnormal autophagy injures the function of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, leads to the formation of lipofuscin and participates in drusen’s accumulation.In retinal detachment (RD), autophagy can be both protective and harmful for photoreceptor cells.The effect and level of autophagy variation correlates with the time, strength and character of the injury.This review analyzed the relationship between autophagy and AMD or RD, and the influence of autophagy variation in these diseases.