Objective To investigate the differences in aqueous humor matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-3 levels among different subtypes of glaucoma patients and its value in the differential diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma(POAG)and Posner-Schlossman syndrome(PSS). Methods A total of 100 glaucoma patients from Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University from January 2024 to June 2025 were enrolled,including 37 cases of PSS(PSS group),32 cases of POAG(POAG group) and 31 cases of angle-closure glaucoma (ACG)(ACG group),with 25 cases of age-related cataract(ARC)as control group. The intraocular pressure and aqueous humor MMP-3 levels were determined. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between aqueous humor MMP-3 levels and intraocular pressure. Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the efficacy of aqueous humor MMP-3 in differentiating PSS and POAG. Results The aqueous humor MMP-3 levels in PSS group and ACG group were higher than those in control group and POAG group(P<0.000 1),and there was no statistical significance between PSS group and ACG group(P>0.05). There was no correlation between aqueous humor MMP-3 levels and intraocular pressure in PSS group,POAG group and ACG group(r values were -0.125,0.271 and 0.180,respectively,P>0.05). The area under curve(AUC)for aqueous humor MMP-3 in differentiating PSS and POAG was 0.821. Conclusions Aqueous humor MMP-3 can be a biomarker for differentiating PSS and POAG.