Amorphous silica and related silicabased materials have been widely developed in optoelectronics and optical telecommunications technology. Despite comprehensive research for over the decades, the subject of amorphous silica continues to excite the interest of researchers in the field of chemistry, physics, and geology. This paper reviews some of the recent experimental and theoretical developments in the field, including mediumrange ord er, structural changes under pressures, vibrational and thermodynamic anomalies, and photoluminescence properties.