For purposes of designing a mapping camera with high image quality for stereoscopic mapping task,the design,manufacturing and assembly for the lens of a mapping camera are investigated.the design of the lens is issued from material choice,structure decision,performance analysis,and so on.Then,the processing methods for thin shell supporting structure of the lens are discussed.Finally,the assembly process of single lens unit and primary lens is introduced as well.After comparison,ZTC4 is selected as the material for lens tube,and a single lens unit and a thin shell are adopted to a combination format.Analysis results with PATRAN/NASTRAN indicate that the lens shows a good mechanical intensity and stiffness and can satisfy the requirement of structure of single lens.The thin shell is gained through casting and turning precisely,and the co-axiality of column in orientation ladders is 0.01 mm.During the assembly of lens,it is very important to keep no deformation,to control a air space accurately and to position a high precision center for assembly.The tested result shows that the optical transfer function of single lens can reach to 0.43(77 lp/mm),which can meet the requirements of precision for a mapping camera.