The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors of clinical outcome of selective retina therapy (SRT) for central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). This retrospective study included 77 eyes of 77 patients, who were treated with SRT for CSC and observed at least 6 months after the treatment. SRT laser (527 nm, 1.7 µs, 100 Hz) was used for treatment. The mean best-corrected visual acuity (logMAR), central macular thickness (CMT) and central choroidal thickness were changed from baseline to at 6-months follow-up with significant difference. The multivariate analyses found that the rate of change (reduction) in CMT was associated with focal leakage type on fluorescein angiography (FA) (p = 0.03, coefficient 15.26, 95% confidence interval 1.72–28.79) and larger baseline CMT (p < 0.01, coefficient − 0.13, 95% confidence interval − 0.13 to − 0.05). Complete resolution of subretinal fluid was associated with nonsmoking history (p = 0.03, odds ratio 0.276, 95% confidence interval 0.086–0.887) and focal leakage type on FA (p < 0.01, odds ratio 0.136, 95% confidence interval 0.042–0.437). These results may be useful for predicting the therapeutic effectiveness of SRT.