A linear lever-type piezoelectric inchworm actuator is designed to implement the high precision positioning of optical field. The actuator adopts the displacement amplification mechanism of symmetric lever, which offers enough clamping force while obtains a larger driving displacement. The working principle of piezoelectric inchworm actuator is presented. And the displacement loss of the flexible amplification mechanism, the coupling characteristics between piezoelectric ceramics and flexible mechanism, and the stiffness and driving mechanism of the clamping mechanism are analyzed. The finite element method is used to simulate the clamping mechanism and the driving mechanism, then the deformation, stress, output displacement and natural frequency are all analyzed. An experimental platform is set up to test the performance of the actuator. The results on the actuator are shown that the travel range, clamping force and the bearing capacity for the actuator are 25 mm, 17 N, and 11 N, respectively. Moreover, the maximum step is 55 μm, and the minimum step is 60 nm, respectively. By applying a driving voltage of 150 V, it offers the highest driving speed of 1.259 mm/s. these data meet the demands of the precision positioning in the optical field.