Summary: Diabetes may lead to many serious eye complications, including diabetic retinopathy, neovascular glaucoma, cataract and surface of the eye disorders. Diabetic retinopathy is a common and the most serious microvascular complication of diabetes in the eye. DR is also the leading cause of preventable blindness in working-age adults. A diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy puts the patient in the group of a very high risk of death due to cardiovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke) within 10 years and influences further diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The longer the duration of diabetes mellitus, the higher the prevalence of DR. Diabetic macular edema is the most common preventable cause of vision loss. Maintaining tight glycemic control (HbA1c level below 7.0%) leads to a reduced risk of developing retinopathy and its progression. Patients with early-stage diabetic retinopathy at risk of impaired visual acuity often remain asymptomatic but by this time treatment with photocoagulation and/or anti-VEGF injection is possible. Rapid diagnosis and implementation of appropriate treatment by photocoagulation and/or intravitreal injection can prevent the development of proliferative retinopathy and blindness. Medical care of a diabetic patient is a complex process; it requires repeated examinations, control of many parameters and close collaboration between primary healthcare physicians, diabetologists, ophthalmologists, nephrologists, cardiologists and other specialists. The diagnostic and therapeutic management of DR has changed significantly over the past two decades with the advent of new technologies.