<p>Modern cataract surgery has entered the era of precision refractive surgery and is no longer only about the restoration of vision, and the factors affecting the refractive error after cataract surgery are gaining increasing attention with the patients’ growing expectation of postoperative visual quality. The refractive error after cataract surgery is related to the accurate measurement of ocular biological parameters, the optimization of the intraocular lens calculation formula, and the prediction of the effective lens position. Clinicians must consider multiple factors to reduce the postoperative refractive error and improve the postoperative satisfaction of cataract patients. In this work, we review factors that affect the refractive error after cataract surgery.</p>