Ophthalmic cataract diagnosis and treatment technology first appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the late Tang Wang To “Secret Essentials of Wai Tai” in the earliest elaboration of the symptoms and course of cataracts, and clearly documented the golden needle dialysis treatment. “It is appropriate to use the golden grate trick, after a needle, open as if the clouds and see the white sun” to the Song and Yuan era of medical doctors of the “secret ophthalmology Longmu theory” recorded “jade cataract green and white, tiel God upright, Yang see is small, Yin see is big, its eyes must be needled, and then take the medicine” describes the diagnosis and treatment of cataracts. Over the past hundred years, cataract removal surgery began in 1745, when Daviel used a triangular knife to make an incision in the lower corneal rim of the eye, then enlarged the incision, lifted the cornea, cut open the anterior capsule, and removed the nucleus of the crystalline lens from the eye after tying it with a fine needle. After 1865, vonGraefe made a series of improvements to cataract surgery, some of which are the basis of modern cataract surgery, and he advocated internal ophthalmologic surgery with removal of the iris in the upper part of the eye. After 1877, ophthalmologists began to use intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE) and continued to improve on the methods of anesthesia and surgical procedures. In 1959, Barrapquer discovered that chymotrypsin could rupture the suspensory ligament of the lens and anteriorly shift the lens. In 1961, Krwawicz had the introduction of the condenser. The application of surgical microscopes in ophthalmology was the era when cataracts entered microsurgery. The application of microsurgical techniques for cataract extraction combined with IOL implantation was one of the most encouraging clinical advances in ophthalmology in the 20th century. In 1965, Binkhorst restarted extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) for senile cataracts, and after continuous improvement, modern extracapsular cataract extraction, in the 1980s, rapidly gained popularity. In 1968, Kelman designed the ultrasonic emulsifier, and from then on, cataract ultrasonic emulsification was opened. In the 1990s, it was the fastest developing period of ultrasonic emulsification cataract aspiration, completing the transition from powered ultrasonic emulsification to suction ultrasonic emulsification. After the 21st century, the Er:YAG laser emulsifier was approved by the U.S. FDA and began to be used in the clinic, and it continued to receive attention for its unique and obvious advantages such as no heat damage and a surgical incision of <1mm. Due to the advancement of material science and the diversification of IOL function, cataract began to change from a kind of blindness restoration surgery to refractive surgery. In the past, people were concerned about how much vision they could see after cataract surgery, but at present, people pay more attention to whether they can see more clearly and comfortably after cataract surgery, and whether they can see far, medium, and near clearly. With the arrival of multifocal, trifocal and infinitely variable zoom crystals, people are able to see far, medium and near distances. At present, there is even a combination of cataract and excimer laser, and the refractive error after cataract surgery is eliminated by the excimer laser, which improves people's quality of vision even more. In the 21st century, with the arrival of the Er:YAG laser emulsification instrument, it is a safer and more precise operation, which improves the quality of vision greatly after the operation. With the further development of material science and the advent of genetic medicine, it is believed that the arrival of smarter crystals or substitutes will make cataract surgery more and more simple, and the quality of people's vision will be closer to the quality of vision that their own lens can achieve.