Abstract: To observe theprotective effect of tea polyphenols on oxidative damage of human retinalpigment epithelial cells. In an in vitro experiment, this study appliedhydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) solution to induce oxidative injuryon human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE-19) cells. Tea polyphenols (TP) werefirstly tested to confirm that, at a concentration below 16mg·mL^-1,it inflicted no proliferation and/or toxicological effects on the cells.Subsequently, in 5 treatments, TP were applied on the cells in vitro todetermine the resulting cellular viability, superoxide dismutase (SOD) andmalondialdehyde (MDA) contents as well as apoptosis rate. It was found that an oxidativedamage with a reduced intracellular SOD activity and an elevated MDA content onthe hRPE-19 cells could best be identified by allowing 24h for a 500μmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ solution to act upon the cells. The TP applicationat 8mg·mL^-1 level appeared optimal to exert stress releasing shownby the selected indicators after the imposed H₂O₂ treatment. Hence, it was postulated that TP might be capable of delaying theage-related macular degeneration (ARMD) and other retinal diseases in human.