Atmospheric aerosols is a key element of climate changes and air pollution, the analysis of the aerosol optical and physical properties can reduce uncertainties in the quantitative assessment of aerosol effects on regional climate and environmental changes, especially in the mega-city. In this study, from December 2010 to August 2011, in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties were conducted at rural and city sites of the mega-city Shenzhen in southeast China. The aerosol optical depth showed a seasonal cycle with the lowest values in summer, while the highest values occurred in winter and spring. The annual cycle of Angstrom wavelength exponent showed a summer minimum associated with sulfate aerosols, and a spring/winter maximum associated with heavy air pollution. The scatter grams of the optical thickness and Angstrom wavelength exponent also indicates that the high aerosol optical thickness mainly come from the city pollution. Mean values (standard deviation, S.D.) of scattering and absorption coefficients for the entire period are 178.7×10-6 m-1(126.6×10-6 m-1) and 32.5×10-6 m-1(18.1×10-6 m-1) respectively. These values are approximately half of the reported values obtained in the Guangzhou urban area. The mean single scattering albedo for the entire period was estimated as 0.81, which is similar to the values reported for the other urban area. The daily variations of aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients were strongly influenced by synoptic changes throughout the observation period.