Aim: To determine the expression of connexin 37, 40, 43, 45 and pannexin 1 in the development of the human eye, and their role in the development of eye tumors, retinoblastoma and melanoma. Materials and methods: The expression of connexins 37, 40, 43, 45 and pannexin 1 was analyzed immunohistochemically and semi-quantitatively and quantitatively in histological sections of human eye samples in development from the 8th to 12th week (15 samples) and in samples of postnatal healthy eyes (5 samples), retinoblastoma (5 samples) and various uveal melanomas (5 samples). Results: The expression of connexin 37 and connexin 43 is increased during the developmental weeks, but decreased in the postnatal period, and was higher in the retina than in the choroid. Connexin 37 was highly expressed in the choroid of retinoblastoma, and connexin 43 in epithelioid melanoma, while both were highly expressed in myxoid melanoma. Mild retinal expression of connexin 40 during development increased in the postnatal period, and was significantly elevated in the choroid of myxoid melanoma. Connexin 45 showed significantly higher expression in the retina during the first developmental weeks compared to other samples, while it became low postnatally in the postnatal healthy eye sample as well as in all tumor samples. Pannexin 1 is more expressed in the developing choroid, and its expression decreases in the postnatal eye sample. It was strongly expressed in epithelioid and spindle-cell melanoma, and especially in retinoblastoma. Conclusion: Our results indicate the importance of connexin 37 and connexin 40 expression in normal and pathological vascularization, as they correlate with the embryonic development of blood vessels in the human eye. Previous research shows the importance of the inflammatory response in the development of tumors, and the expression of connexin 43 could indicate the importance of this connexin in the inflammatory response, and it could also be a potential biomarker of tumor prognosis. Connexin 45 shows importance in the early stages of eye development, while pannexin 1 could affect cell metabolism. Further researches are needed to understand the full role and interaction of these proteins, and results could create the possibility of using these proteins as prognostic biomarkers or a possible therapeutic target in the treatment of tumor processes in the eye.