Visual field examination is essential for evaluating optical nerve damage in glaucomatous eye.Severity of visual field abnormality affects the decision of treating regimen and monitor of disease change and is an integral part of patient care.Staging glaucomatous visual field defects is important for clinicians and researchers.Many classification methods of visual field damage severity have been proposed,but none has been widespread used in clinical practice.Each method has its own distinct advantage and disadvantage.So no a golden standard is universally accepted in the visual field defects staging method up to now,and different methods provide us multiple choice.It is still a challenge for clinician to choose a simple and accurate system to stage visual field defects of glaucomatous patient.This article offers a review of the various classification and staging methods of functional damage,which have been used in the field of glaucoma.