Two hundred forty-six eyes with temporal branch retinal vein obstruction (TBRVO) were studied prospectively. Of the 85 eyes not receiving laser treatment, 35 (41%) presented with greater than or equal to 20/50 vision and 89% remained in this group; whereas, 29 eyes (34%) presented with less than or equal to 20/200 vision and only 17% improved. Of the 161 eyes receiving laser, 40 (25%) had greater than or equal to 20/50 vision pre-treatment and 75% remained in this group; whereas, 64 eyes (40%) had less than or equal to 20/200 vision pre-treatment and 50% improved. The average final VA (20/70 vs 20/100), risk of developing neovascularization in ischemic TBRVO (3% vs 34%) and risk of vitreous hemorrhage in proliferative TBRVO (10% vs 57%) were all significantly better in treated eyes (p less than or equal to 0.01).