Aim To compare the anatomical and functional success of primary scleral buckling, performed either alone or in combination with vitrectomy, for primary retinal detachment (RD) in phakic eyes and in eyes had undergone uneventful phacoemulsification and had received posterior chamber lens implantations. Methods A total of 243 consecutive patients were included in this retrospective, nonrandomized comparative study. In all, 165 phakic and 78 pseudophakic individuals with primary RD underwent scleral buckling alone or in combination with vitrectomy and were followed up for 6 months. Pre-, intra-and postoperative findings including anatomical success, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), complications, and the development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), macular pucker, or secondary cataracts were recorded. Cases requiring more than one surgical intervention were defined having failed, although further surgical intervention might have led to success. Results At 6 months after scleral buckling alone, the anatomical success was similar in phakic (88.98%) and pseudophakic (87.65%) eyes (log rank ¼ 0.310). The corresponding results after scleral buckling with vitrectomy were 82.13 and 77.63% for phakic and pseudophakic eyes, respectively (log rank ¼ 0.799). At 6 months after scleral buckling alone, BCVA was similar in phakic and pseudophakic eyes (0.6270.30 vs 0.7070.29; P ¼ 0.227). Likewise, after scleral buckling with vitrectomy, BCVA did not differ significantly (P ¼ 0.322) between phakic (0.3470.32) and pseudophakic eyes (0.5070.27). Conclusion The anatomical and functional outcome of primary retinal reattachment surgery, involving scleral buckling alone or in combination with vitrectomy, is similar in phakic and pseudophakic eyes.