PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between visual disability and visual scores in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. METHODS: The relationship between visual disability and visual scores (visual acuity and visual field) was investigated in 93 patients with retinitis pigmentosa. The visual disability of each patient was evaluated using a questionnaire (a total of 35 questions, in 7 sections, regarding daily life). The reproducibility and validity of the data obtained by the questionnaire had been established by a similar investigation in glaucoma patients. Mean (+/-SD) age of patients was 52.6 +/- 15.1 years, the mean visual acuity of the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (log10MAR) was 0.5 +/- 0.4, and the mean deviation of visual field with the Humphrey Field Analyzer program 30-2 was -22.0 +/- 10.9 dB. RESULTS: The visual acuity of log10MAR in the better eye (r = 0.66 to 0.81) and the mean sensitivity within the central 10 degrees of the visual field (r = -0.76 to -0.62) had a definite relationship to the visual disability index of each section and their sum (P < .0001). This relationship was also confirmed in multiple regression analysis, which showed a high correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.57 to 0.77, P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The retinal sensitivity within the central 10 degrees and the visual acuity of log10MAR in the better eye had a significant influence on a patient's daily life. We suggest that in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, visual disability in daily life can be precisely evaluated with the retinal sensitivity within the central 10 degrees and the visual acuity in the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution in the better eye.