Purpose: to compare changes in lipid metabolism and antioxidant status in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) with that in patients with a history of ischemic stroke and in patients with no clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis. Material and methods. A total of 111 patients were enrolled in the study. Group 1 included 80 patients with RVO and grade 2-3 stage II-III essential hypertension, group 2-11 patients with grade 3 stage III essential hypertension, high cardiovascular risk and a history of ischemic stroke. The control group included 20 patients with no clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis. All patients underwent a standard ophthalmic examination, fluorescent retinal angiography, lipid metabolism and redox system assessment. Results. The levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and cholinesterase were higher in study groups than in controls regardless the type of RVO. A statistically proven increase in oxidized LDL (oxLDL) was found in patients with complicated hypertension and ischemic RVO. A direct correlation was determined between the level of anti-oxLDL IgG and lipid peroxidation activity (LP) (R=0,376; p=0,136) as well as the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) (R=0,529; p=0,029) and GPx per gram of hemoglobin (R =0,543; p=0,024) in patients with branch RVO. Redox system assessment showed a decrease of thiols and an increase of LP metabolites. Conclusion. The results demonstrated that retinal vein occlusions develop under disorders of lipid metabolism similar to those in patients with a history of ischemic stroke. The correlation between the level of anti-oxLDL IgG and LP points to the redox system involvement in the intricate pathogenesis of RVO.