We used laser interferometry (LI) and a potential acuity meter (PAM) to predict visual acuity after surgery for patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with macular involvement. Thirty one eyes of 31 patients with retinal detachment were treated with scleral buckling procedures. Postoperative visual acuity was correlated with preoperative measurements of the LI and PAM, preoperative visual acuity by Landort's ring, and the estimated duration of macular detachment. The correlation between the duration of macular detachment and the postoperative visual acuity was not good (r = 0.55, p < 0.01). Although the preoperative visual acuity showed a relatively good correlation with postoperative visual acuity (r = 0.62, p < 0.01), the results of the LI and PAM provided a better correlation (LI; r = 0.73, PAM; r = 0.71). Our results suggest that the LI and PAM are useful to predict the visual acuity after retinal reattachment in patients with preoperative macular detachment.