Objective To summarize the clinical features of intraorbital foreign bodies and the surgical management. Methods Retrospective study of 22 clinical cases. Clinical manifestations, image findings, and surgical treatment of patients with intraorbital foreign bodies diognosed and treated in the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center between January 2002 and July 2013 were reviewed. Results Of the patients, 19 were males and 3 were females with ages from 3 to 67 years. Patients with ≤14 years of age accounted for 46% of the cases. The right orbit was affected in 10 cases and the left one in 12 cases. Of the cases, 73% had an organic intraorbital foreign body. The sites of the foreign bodies within the orbit were superior (41%), medial (27%), lateral (18%), inferior (9%), and muscle cone posterior segment (4%). Half of the subjects presented with preoperative visual impairment, and 46% with preoperative limited motility/strabismus and ptosis. Orbital computed tomography scans showed that the organic foreign bodies appeared as rod-like strips with high density compared to the surrounding soft tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed hypointense images on both T1WI and T2WI. The intraorbital foreign bodies were completely removed by anterior orbitotomy in 21 cases and by lateral orbitotomy in one case. Among them, 21 cases underwent a single operation and one case had two operations. Only two patients had temporary mild postoperative ptosis. Conclusion Intraorbital foreign bodies usually occurred in male children. Orbital imaging played an important role in accurate presurgical diagnoses. Anterior orbitotomy usually resulted in a satisfactory surgical outcome.