光镊技术是激光技术的重大发明，能利用光的动量与物质相互作用产生光势阱效应，已成为微纳米微粒操控和皮牛顿力测量的重要工具。光镊技术不仅丰富和推进了光学领域的发展，也为光学与多学科的交叉融合架起了一座桥梁，彰显出了它独特而不可替代的作用。综述回顾了30 年来光镊理论和技术的发展，系统梳理了光镊在细胞生物学、单分子生物学、软物质胶体科学以及物理纳米科学等领域的应用，并列举典型的应用实例，探讨了光镊技术应用的特点，展望了光镊技术应用蓬勃发展的美好未来。

Optical tweezers, a significant application technology of the laser, are capable of trapping microscopic particles by photon linear momentum transfer. Currently, it is a vital member of the family of micromanipulation tools as well as the precision measurement instrument of pico-Newton force spectroscopy. Its invention does not only aroused vast applications in optics but also plays an important role, as a bridge, in the interdisciplinary research. A short overview on the basic physical principles and concepts of optical trapping over the latest 30 years is provided. Further, some important applications of optical tweezers in cell biology, single molecular biology, the physics of colloidal systems and nano- science are presented as well as the main technical features implied in these applications. Finally, we discuss and expect the perspective of application of optical tweezers in the future.