Background  Abnormal ophthalmic examination results have always been a main reason why young individuals are rejected during military recruitment. Since high school graduates are the main source of military academy recruitment, their ophthalmic examination results should be taken seriously.

  Objective  To investigate the reasons for unqualified ophthalmic examination results in high school graduates planning to sign up for military academies, and provide better support for the recruitment of high-quality military trainees.

  Methods  The ophthalmic examination results of the high school graduates who underwent physical examination in our hospital in July 2020 were analyzed according to The Physical Examination Standard for Military Academy Applicants issued in 2017. Visual acuity and color vision were examined at the space and distance with proper brightness; a slit lamp was used to examine the conjunctiva, cornea, anterior chamber, and lens; a direct ophthalmoscope was used to examine the fundus in a darkroom; histories of ophthalmic diseases and surgeries were obtained through surgical records, diagnosis certificates, and medical history inquiries.

  Results  A total of 630 individuals underwent ophthalmic examination, among whom 558 were qualified, with an overall qualification rate of 88.6%; among these graduates, there were 420 males and 138 females, and the male individuals had a slightly lower qualification rate than the female individuals (87.7% vs 91.4%, P=0.242). Among the individuals with qualified results, 34 cases had a history of corneal refractive surgery, with SMILE as the main surgical approach. There were 72 individuals with unqualified results, accounting for 11.4%, among whom the individuals with insufficient uncorrected visual acuity accounted for 65.3%, those with a time of <6 months after corneal refractive surgery accounted for 23.6%, those undergoing the implantation of implantable collamer lens accounted for 4.2%, those with spherical equivalent exceeding 6.0D accounted for 2.8%, and those with central lens opacity, leukoma, or insufficient corrected visual acuity accounted for 1.4%.

  Conclusion  Insufficient uncorrected visual acuity and insufficient time after corneal refractive surgery are the main reasons for unqualified ophthalmic examination results, and proper education should be carried out in advance to guide young people to prepare for recruitment.