Optical bioimaging methods have a wide range of applications in life science, most notably including: the molecular resolution study of subcellular structures, the small animal molecular imaging, and the structural and functional clinical diagnostics of tissue layers and organs. In this paper, fluorescent microscopy, fluorescent macroscopy, optical coherence tomography, optoacoustic tomography and optical diffuse spectroscopy and tomography are reviewed from the standpoint of physical fundamentals, applications and progress.