phacoemulsification continues to be one of the most popular surgical procedures for cataract extraction in the ophthalmologic practice. Macular edema is one of the most common complications of cataract surgery, It is the main cause of the postoperative visual impairment and its incidence is 0.1–9 %. To detect the changes in prepapillary retinal nerve fiber layer and macular thickness after phacoemulsification surgery by the OCT. 30 eyes of 30 patients who underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification between sept. 2018 and feb. 2019 at the ophthalmology department at Benha university hospital were included in the study, Spectral domain optical Coherence Tomographywas done before phacoemulsification then one week and one month after the surgery for Macular examination and Retinal nerve fiber layer examination. patients age range between (45-65) years old. the average retinal nerve fiber layer thickness after one week and one month of the surgery were significantly higher than those measured preoperatively (P <0.001). there was a statistically significant increase in the central macular thickness in the 1st week and the 1st month after surgery than before it (P <0.001). phacoemulsification can cause a significant increase in the RNFL and central macular layer thickness in the1st week & the 1st month after the surgery than before it.