Organic spiro photochromic compounds exhibit excellent chemical stability, photosensitivity and photofatigue resistance, and have potential applications in the fields of light filters and optical data recording and storage. The design and synthesis of spiro compounds have been a focus in the field to obtain photo-chromic spiro compounds with better performance. The recent progress in the studies on photochromic O-, N- or S-containing spiro compounds is reviewed. The spiro compounds of structural features are described in detail and the synthetic methods of some organic spiro compounds are also provided. At last the prospects of this kind of spiro compounds are suggested.

Key words: bispiro-compound, spiro-pyran, spiro-oxazine, spiro-conjugation, photochromism