Community-based studies for visual impairment in Taiwan are few. As diseases' pattern and population's structure change, the worldwide population of the visually impaired will grow up markedly in the absence of effective intervention. By analyzing both cross-sectional and longitudinal community-based studies, we tried to explore the current situations and the causes of visual impairment in Taiwan. Have the majority of visually impaired people been appropriately cared? Are there unmet medical and social needs for the visually impaired? And how could we do to achieve our goal and meet the demands with such limited resources? Efforts should be made to recognize and treat those affected at an earlier stage of blindness-causing diseases for the benefits of the individual and society.