Chinese Optics Letters (COL), considered to be one of the most important journals in optics in China , has been published from January 2003. Before 2003, this journal is available of Chinese Journal of Laser B, which is also a core journal in the fields of laser and optics. The first issue of this journal appeared in 1982.

COL is published monthly by Chinese Optics Letters Manuscript Office, sponsored by the Chinese Optical Society, undertaken by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and distributed by Optical Society of America outside of Chinese Mainland.

COL is one of the leading Chinese journals for optics in China. The purpose of COL is to promote the generation, application and archiving of knowledge in optics and to disseminate it worldwide. Its subject coverage includes Fiber Optics and Optical Communications, Lasers and Laser Optics, Nonlinear Optics, Image Processing, Instrumentation, Measurement and Metrology, Integrated Optics, Materials, Quantum Optics, Ultrafast Optics, etc.

COL reports latest developments and achievements in all fields of optics. The average period of published papers from their receipt to the publication is about 6 months.

COL has reported a large number of creative, important, and exciting results. The most of papers published in COL are indexed by the main index systems of the world such as SCI-E, EI, CA, etc. COL is also the core source periodical of Chinese Science Citation Database and Chinese Academic Journal Comprehensive Evaluation Database.