Twelve patients had neuroretinitis characterized by optic disc swelling with marked peripapillary and macular exudates. Individual cases demonstrated bilateral involvement, associated chorioretinitis, and symptoms and signs indicating extraocular CNS involvement. Detailed diagnostic investigation, performed in half of the cases, failed to demonstrate a cause. A temporal relationship to viral disease was present in five of 12 cases, although clinical findings in some cases indicated the condition does not simply represent a monophasic response to viral illness. Regardless of the degree of initial visual impairment or the severity of disc swelling and retinal involvement, ultimate visual outcome was generally excellent, but visual impairment persisted in some patients.