Change of urate and ascorbate levels in retinae of rat left eyes after ophthalmic artery and optic nerve ligation was studied by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The right eyes were used for sham operation. We found that uric acid levels in the retinae of the left eyes increased as a function of time after the operation, whereas those of the right eyes remained unchanged. In addition, we found that ascorbic acid levels in the retinae of the rat eyes decreased after the operation.