We report 21 cases, representing 3.1% of a total of 682 cataract patients, of surgically induced diffuse scleritis (SIDS) following planned extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens insertion. The mean age was significantly lower in the patients with SIDS (mean 62.5 years; SD 13.68) when compared with the non-scleritic group (mean 73.6 years; SD 10.2; Mann-Whitney U-test, p = 0.0003). There was an association of SIDS with general anaesthetic (chi-squared test, p = 0.0008). Twenty of 21 patients responded to oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents with good visual result.