Dedicated to Professor Siegjiried Petersen on the occasion of his 65th birthdayOptical brighteners are used in detergents, textiles, paper, plastics, and paints. Most optical brighteners contain heterocycles such as coumarins, 2-pyrazolines, naphthalimides, pyrazoles, triazoles, oxadiazoles, and triazines. In this article the syntheses, properties, and applications of new optical brighteners are described with references to patent literature.