Background: Ocular manifestations are frequent in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Whether ocular symptoms predict the presence of inflammatory ocular diseases in IBD is unknown.Aim: To evaluate the value of ocular symptoms in predicting ophthalmologic inflammation in patients with IBD.Methods: All consecutive IBD patients seen in the Department of Gastroenterology (Nancy, University Hospital, France) between April 2009 and July 2011 were interviewed for this cross-sectional study using a pre-established questionnaire. This questionnaire was developed by the Departments of Gastroenterology and Ophthalmology. If the patient had at least one ocular symptom, he systematically underwent an ophthalmologic examination (visual acuity, Tear Break-Up Time test, Schirmer test, slit-lamp exam with fundus examination).Results: This cross-sectional survey was completed by 306 patients: 169 were women (55.2%), 228 had Crohn's disease (74.5%), 77 ulcerative colitis (25.2%) and 1 microscopic colitis (0.3%). Ninety-eight patients (32%) reported at least one ocular symptom: ocular irritation (56.8%), red eye (40.5%), blurred vision (37.8%), ocular pain (31.1%), progressive visual loss (34.4%), myodesopsia (23.3%), eyelid secretion (12.2%), dry eye (9.5%), watering (6.8%), diplopia (5.4%), metamorphopsia (4%), and sudden visual loss (4%). Following ophthalmologic examination (n=74), 41.9% patients had evidence of dry eye (n=31), 14.9% blepharitis (n=11) and 1.4% scleritis (n=1). No uveitis was reported. No factors were associated with dry eye.