Super-resolution optical microscopy, sometimes called optical nanoscopy, refers to a new kind of far-¯eld optical microscopy which allows optical imaging with a resolution higher than the well-known resolution limit (or the Abbe di®raction limit) which stood for more than a century. The reported approaches that break the resolution limit involve either e®ectively reducing the focus region of the excitation light or stochastic separation and precise localization of single°uorophores. Super-resolution optical microscopy provides unprecedented opportunities for tackling outstanding fundamental questions in life science, medicine, materials, and many others that require non-invasive imaging with molecular level spatial resolution.In the past decade, a large number of studies have been made in the technology development and applications of super-resolution optical microscopy. Among them, researches from China appeared more than ten years ago, 1 and grew rapidly in the past several years. This special issue is intended to present some of the recent progresses from China. Original research papers and reviews included here cover a broad range of topics: development of new°uorescent probes and labeling strategies, selection and use of low-light cameras, new data analysis and reconstruction methods, new super-resolution imaging methods, and recent applications of super-resolution imaging in glycoscience.Xu and his colleagues 2 in Beijing, China summarized the photophysical and biochemical properties of the recently developed photomodulatable°uorescent proteins (PMFPs), and discussed the properties of PMFPs that are important for di®erent kinds of super-resolution imaging techniques. They also pointed out the need of brighter green PMFPs with enhanced contrast ratios and photostability for live-cell superresolution techniques, and red/far-red PMFPs with optimal photochemical characteristics for dual-color super-resolution imaging.The Wang group 3 in Changchun, China focused on the developments and challenges of super-resolution imaging in glycoscience, or more speci¯cally, the distribution and role of carbohydrates in cell membranes. They introduced the imaging principle and the available°uorescent probes for super-resolution imaging, and the strategies for labeling carbohydrates. They also summarized the applications of super-resolution imaging technology in spatial investigation of carbohydrates. This review is surely bene¯cial for researchers who are interested to use super-resolution imaging technology as a tool to obtain new insights into the study of glycoscience.To help readers understand the selection and optimal use of low-light cameras in super-resolution localization microscopy, one of the Guest Editors and his colleagues 4 provided a tutorial on how to fully access the performance of low-light cameras using a well-developed method called Photon Transfer Curve (PTC). They introduced brie°y the key parameters for characterizing low-light cameras, then explained how to use the PTC method for accessing the entire p...