A compact Mie scattering lidar system at a wavelength of 532 nm is developed to measure the optical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles and horizontal visibility.Some observations are performed and analyzed.The Fernald method is employed to retrieve the extinction coefficient of aerosol.Some continuous continual experiments are carried out for verifying the feasibility of the Mie scattering lidar at Xi′an area,and the observation results are demonstrated here by measuring the aerosol profiles of the extinction coefficient,the spatial temporal variation of atmospheric boundary layer height which are obtained within whole day at one hour interval,and the horizontal visibility which agrees with the data obtained from the local weather bureau.The observation results show that the Mie scattering lidar is capable of measuring efficiently the optical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles and horizontal visibility.