Derived from household interviews, the study was based upon a sample of about 42,000 households including 134,000 persons. Findings were that the visually impaired represented an older segment of the population and that the marked increase in estimated trends resulted not from severe but rather from other impairments. Of an estimated 5,029,000 persons with impairments (prevalence rate=31.3 per 1,000 population), 969,000 could not read ordinary newsprint and 310,000 could not see features and/or moving objects. Analysis of demographic characteristics indicated that the number of persons reporting vision impairment was greater for those having lower incomes or less education, living in the South, belonging to the nonwhite population, or not living in standard metropolitan areas. Approximately three of five persons with impaired vision reported limitation of activities, but less than one-half attributed this limitation to their vision. Limitations are further classified according to age and sex; employment, living arrangements, and use of aids, talking books, braille, and financial aid are considered; and functional limitations, age at which impaired vision first interfered with daily activities, and the relationship between vision impairment and other selected chronic conditions are treated. (JD)