Abstract: Optical molecular imaging is a non- invasive technology that utilizes biological autofluorescence and luciferase probes to monitor molecules and molecular pathways. In recent years, the simple, non-invasive, real-time, highly sensitive, and low-cost applica-tions of optical molecular imaging have been extensivelyutilized in the medical and life science fields. Optical molecular imaging re -search studies commonly use fluorescent probes that contain luciferase, green fluorescent protein, and indocyanine green, a near-in -frared fluorescent dye. Given that surgery is a main therapeutic strategy for solid tumors, imaging- guided surgery provides new in -sights on the precise resection of cancerous tissues. In particular, considerable attention is focused on developing dynamic and real-time sentinel lymph node (SLN) navigation to determine the extent of tumor resection and secure free tumor margins. In this article, we review the applications of intraoperative optical molecular imaging as a surgical navigation technology. These applications include, but are not limited to, accurately identifying SLNs, detecting tumor margins, and determining the extent of tumor resection.