According to spectral characteristics of apparent modulation transfer function (MTF) of turbid atmosphere, this paper proposes a new imaging quality evaluation factor to select optimal bands and obtains the imaging quality in different bands. Furthermore, the paper analyzes factors affecting optimal bands and summarizes optimal bands under typical atmospheric conditions and typical bandwidths. It is found that relatively universal and favorable images can be obtained in the bands of 1036-1046 nm and 1620-1630 nm. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by imaging experiments.