Various types of contact lenses, i.e., poly-methyl-methacrylate hard lenses, poly-2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate soft lenses and two kinds of gas-permeable hard lenses with different permeabilities to oxygen, were placed on one eye of the albino rabbit for varying lengths of time. Using the fellow eye as the control, studies were carried out of the effects of the lens wear on the mitosis in the corneal epithelium and the lactate concentration in the aqueous humor. The contact lens wear suppressed the mitosis and increased the concentration of aqueous lactate, the degree of changes being greater as the permeability of the lens to oxygen decreased and the period of wear became longer.