Objective: To study the effects of small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) on corneal densitometry (CD) after refractive correction for myopia. Methods:This was a retrospective non-randomized cohort study. Ninety patients (172 eyes) underwent refractive surgery from July 2016 to November 2017, in which 45 patients (86 eyes) underwent SMILE and the other 45 patients (86 eyes) underwent FS-LASIK. The CD data was calculated automatically by the Pentacam system before surgery and 3 months after surgery. For CD analysis, the average CD in the three concentric radial zone centered on the apex of the cornea (0-2 mm, 2-6 mm, 6-10 mm diameters) were divided into three layers that were defined according to different corneal depths (the anterior 120 μm as the 1st layer,the posterior 60 μm as the 3rd layer, and the center part between them as the 2nd layer). The overall CD of the cornea was also measured. A covariance analysis was used to compare the CD between the two groups,and a Wilcoxon test was used to compare the CD within groups. A Spearman test was used to analyze the relationship between the change in CD and CCT, IOP, corneal curvature and SE. Results: In the SMILE group, CD after surgery was lower than before surgery and differences were significant (all P<0.05), except for the 2nd layer in the 0-2 mm range (Z=-1.956, P=0.051). In the FS-LASIK group, CD after surgery was lower than before surgery and differences were significant (all P<0.05). Except for the 0-2 mm 1st and 3rd layer (Z=-2.927, P=0.003; Z=-2.261, P=0.024), the diffrences were not significant for other radial zone and layers. When the changes in CD were compared between the two groups, there were no statistically significant differences for the 3rd layer in the 6-10 mm range (F=1.808, P=0.181), the 3rd layer (F=3.281, P=0.072), and the total layer (F=3.666, P=0.057). The rest had statistically significant differences (all P<0.05), and the CD of the SMILE group was lower than that in the FS-LASIK group. Conclusions: Both SMILE and FS-LASIK decrease corneal densitometry, and they have similar effects on total corneal densitometry.