Refractive surgical procedures are generally divided into additive procedures with, e. g. implantation of an artificial lens and subtractive procedures with ablation of corneal tissue. In this article the current status of phakic intraocular lens (IOL) implantation for correction of refractive errors is reviewed. Phakic IOLs are constructed as angle-supported or iris-fixated anterior chamber lenses and sulcus-fixated posterior chamber lenses. The implantation of phakic IOLs has been demonstrated to be an effective, safe, predictable and stable procedure to correct higher refractive errors. Complications are rare and depend to a large extent on the location. For anterior chamber lenses the main concern is critical endothelial cell loss and for posterior chamber lenses early cataract formation.