Aims Adenomas of the ciliary body epithelium, including adenoma of the pigmented ciliary body epithelium (APCE) and adenoma of the non-pigmented ciliary body epithelium (ANPCE), are extremely rare, and most knowledge about them comes from sporadic case reports. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive understanding of adenomas of the ciliary body epithelium and to identify the similarities and differences between APCE and ANPCE. Methods This study was a retrospective case series comprising data from 41 patients obtained from retrieved publications and five cases diagnosed at the Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital. The clinicopathological features, treatment and prognosis of APCE and ANPCE were compared using the non-parametric rank sum test, t-test and the χ2 test. Results The clinical and histopathological features and treatment were analogous between APCE (n=23) and ANPCE (n=23). The overall visual prognosis associated with the two tumours was good, with 63% of the pati