Let X be a Fano manifold of Picard number one. We establish a lower bound for the second Chern class of X in terms of its index and degree. As an application, if Y is a n-dimensional Fano manifold with −K Y = (n − 3)H for some ample divisor H, we prove that h 0 (Y, H) ≥ n − 2. Moreover, we show that the rational map defined by |mH| is birational for m ≥ 5, and the linear system |mH| is basepoint free for m ≥ 7. As a by-product, the pluri-anti-canonical systems of singular weak Fano varieties of dimension at most 4 are also investigated.