該期刊發表了光學和光子學的基礎和應用研究進展。主題包括但不限于：激光、發光二極管和其他光源；光纖和光學通信；成像、探測器和傳感器；新型材料和工程結構；光學數據儲存和顯示；等離子；量子光學；衍射光學和制導光學；醫學光學和生物光學；紫外線和X射線；太赫茲技術。光子學研究是OSA和中國激光印刷機的聯合出版工作。

The journal publishes fundamental and applied research progress in optics and photonics. Topics include, but are not limited to, lasers, LEDs and other light sources; fiber optics and optical communications; imaging, detectors and sensors; novel materials and engineered structures; optical data storage and displays; plasmonics; quantum optics; diffractive optics and guided optics; medical optics and biophotonics; ultraviolet and x-rays; terahertz technology. Photonics Research is a joint publishing effort of the OSA and Chinese Laser Press.