Two new three-branched s-triazine derivatives with near-octupolar symmetry have been synthesized. In each of them, two branches have donor groups attaching to their ends, while the other one has none. Their photophysical characteristics, such as UV–vis spectra, fluorescence spectra and two-photon excited fluorescence spectra, are compared with their octuplar analogs in which all the three branches are ended by donor group. The little structural difference results in great decline of single-photon absorptivity and single-photon excited fluorescence, as well as the two-photon excitated fluorescence.