Abstract: The establishment and development of Primarystandard Optical Metrology Lab for National Defense are introduced. The importance of optical metrology in national defense is stressed. The progress and achievement acquired in establishing military and national standards, the practical work conducted in metrology and calibration, and the metrology service provided in the process of development, production, test and application of military equipments in the past two decades are described. According to the principle of priority to tasks and research projects, and proceeding from the actual needs of optoelectronic testing, the experts who can take on the research projects and management were employed and trained. The focal points of the future work under the new situation are emphasized.