A survey of the practice styles and preferences of members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery with a United States ZIP code was performed in September 1996. Approximately 26% (1440) of the 5520 questionnaires mailed were returned by the November cutoff date. Three main profile questions were used to cross-tabulate data: age of the ophthalmologist, geographic location, and volume of cataract surgery per month. Current data were compared with data in previous annual surveys.