PURPOSE: To assess the association of dietary carbohydrate intake and dietary glycemic index (GI), and risk of age-related cataract (ARC), and quantitatively estimate their dose-response relationships. METHODS: We searched Medline, the Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE), Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Science Citation Index, ISI Web of Knowledge, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases before October 2013. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed study quality. The random-effect model was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs). Dose-response analyses, subgroup analyses based on ARC subtypes, heterogeneity, and publication bias assessment were also carried out. RESULTS: Seven studies were included in our meta-analysis. The pooled ORs of ARC for the highest versus the lowest category of carbohydrate intake and GI were 1.18 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.38) and 1.15 (95% CI: 1.00-1.32), respectively. Further subgroup analyses based on ARC subtypes suggested a marginally significant association between higher carbohydrate intake and cortical cataract risk (OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 0.99-1.90), and a statistically significant association between higher GI and nuclear cataract risk (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.03-1.46). In addition, a significant dose-response relationship was observed between carbohydrate intake and the risk of cortical cataract. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that higher dietary carbohydrate quantity and GI may be associated with the risk of cortical and nuclear cataract, respectively. The results should be interpreted cautiously and more studies are warranted to clarify this issue.