Abstract: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is the most common oral malignant tumor. The study of optical imaging is of great significance for large-scale screening and precise surgical resection, which is helpful to realize early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma and improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients undergoing surgery. In this paper, we review the clinical research progress in optical imaging of oral squamous cell carcinoma including Lugol’s iodine staining, toluidine blue staining, methylene blue staining, chemiluminescence imaging, optical coherence tomography imaging, Raman spectrum imaging, tissue autofluorescence imaging, narrow band imaging, fluorescence imaging of protoporphyrin IX induced by 5-aminolevulinic acid, indocyanine green near-infrared fluorescence imaging and targeted molecular fluorescence imaging.