Abstract: Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of small incision nucleus fragmentation method and phacoemulsification cataract surgery in the treatment of senile hard nuclear cataract.Methods: Seventy patients(78 eyes) with senile hard nuclear cataract were randomly divided into the observation group and control group35 cases(39 eyes),each group.The observation group and control group were treated with the small incision nucleus fragmentation method and phacoemulsification cataract surgery,respectively.The visual acuity,astigmatism degree,adverse reaction and quality of life between two groups were compared.Results: The difference of the visual acuity between two groups before operation was not statistically significant(P> 0.05),the postoperative visual acuity levels in two groups were significantly improved(P<0.01),and the visual acuity levels after 4 and 8 weeks of operation in observation group were higher than those in control group(P<0.01 and P<0.05).The difference of astigmatism degree between two groups before operation was not statistically significant(P>0.05),the astigmatism degree increased significantly after 1 week of operation,and decreased after 8 weeks of operation(P<0.01 and P<0.05).The difference of astigmatism degree between two groups after operation was not statistically significant(P>0.05).The incidence of adverse reaction in observation group(25.64%) was lower than that in control group(48.72%) (P<0.05).The difference of the postoperative quality of life scores between two groups was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Conclusions: According to the visual acuity level,astigmatism degree,quality of life and complications,the small incision cataract extraction and chop technique can be used as the treatment method of senile cataract in the primary hospital.