Background: Racial and environmental factors may influence the refractive errors, corneal curvature and thickness. These variables were evaluated in Arak residential university students.

Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional observational study 400 students aged 18-30 years old living in Arak city that were eligible for the study. Demographic and past medical history information of all students was recorded and the corneal thickness (CT) and curvature (CC) and refractive error were measured. The correlation between refractive indices and CT and CC were investigated in all cases and also in refractive subgroups.

Results: The mean of CT, CC and power were 533.22(±32.02) µm, 7.75(±0.28) mm and 43±1.66 Diopters respectively. There were significant correlation between refractive error and CT in hyperopic subgroup (p=0.029) and between CT and CC in myopic subgroup (p=0.007). The mean of CC of myopic and astigmatic subgroups were significantly more than normal cases.

Conclusion: These findings are similar to the other international researches about corneal thickness, curvature and refractive errors in normal population. It seems further studies with more and older cases are necessary to investigate the impact of climatic condition and industrial air pollution on refractive errors and corneal parameters.