The mechanism responsible for the development of occlusive processes on the fundus of the eye in different forms of retinal angiitis remains unknown. So the purpose of this study was to investigate the local and systemic fibrinolytic activity in 10 patients with optic disk vasculitis (ODV), 16 patients with peripheral uveitis (PU), 21 patients with isolated retinal angiitis (IRA), 17 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) versus 8 healthy donors (a control group). Fibrinolytic activity was determined by the area of lysis, which appeared on the fibrin plate around the 2x2-mm filter paper previously placed in tear or blood. Fibrinolytic activity was ascertained to be decreased if the area of lysis was less than 30 mm2. There was a significant reduction in local fibrinolytic activity in the eyes with occlusive retinal vasculitis (RV) compared with the eyes with RV without occlusions by PU (60 and 9.1%, respectively; p = 0.0048), IRA (61.5 and 12.5%, respectively; p = 0.0056), and as compared to the eyes without vasculitis by ODV (70 and 0%, respectively, p = 0.0031). In SLE, the decrease in local fibrinolytic activity was detected significantly less frequently (33.3 and 16.6% with and without retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), respectively). Blood fibrinolytic activity was lowered only in patients with SLE (with 100 and 16.7% with and without RVO, respectively; p = 0.0151) and remained unchanged in those with ODV, PU, and IRA (more than 50 mm2). Thus, RVO is associated with impaired local reactions in patients with PU, ODV, and IRA and with impaired systemic reactions in those with SLE.