A 66-year-old man with typical anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in one eye suffered from edema of the optic disc without functional changes in the fellow eye. However, 7 months later, a reduction in visual acuity, a change in the visual field and a worsening of the contrast-sensitivity curve demonstrated the development of typical anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in this eye as well. After another 6-month period, in addition to these changes, an extensive subretinal neovascular membrane developed in the papillomacular area, which further reduced the patient's visual acuity and required treatment with laser photocoagulation. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of the occurrence of a subretinal neovascular membrane as a complication of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.