Chromatic and achromatic visual evoked potentials (VEP) were evaluated in 39 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) (age 64.0 +/- 8.6 years) and 43 healthy controls (age 62.8 +/- 8.7 years). The following pattern-reversal checkerboard stimuli were performed: (1) achromatic with luminance contrast 86% (achr.hk.) (2) achromatic with luminance contrast 20% (achr.lk.); (3) chromatic isoluminant blue-yellow (by.); (4) chromatic isoluminant red-green (rg.). The mean latencies N70, P100, and N135 of chromatic and achromatic VEP were significantly delayed in patients with PD as compared to controls. The highest rate (41.0%) of pathological findings could be demonstrated by achromatic stimulation (luminance contrast 86%). Isolated abnormalities of chromatic VEP (in combination with normal achromatic VEP) were found in 5 (12.8%) patients. The delay of VEP-latencies was significantly correlated with the severity of motor symptoms in PD patients. We conclude that VEP are valuable tools to demonstrate a dysfunction of the visual system in PD. Although chromatic VEP are less sensitive than achromatic VEP, the combination of both will increase the diagnostic yield. Therefore, there seems to exist a variety of individual characters of visual impairment in PD.