In this study, mass concentrations and chemical compositions of fine particles, mass concentrations of coarse particles, light extinction, and meteorological parameters in the atmosphere of Xiamen were presented and analyzed to study the chemical and optical characteristics of a typical haze episode from Dec 25, 2010 to Jan 1, 2011. The major chemical compositions of PM_2.5, such as water soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs), carbonaceous fractions (mainly composed of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC)), and elements were determined. The results showed that with the typical haze episode process, the concentrations of PM_2.5 mass, WSIIs, OC, EC, and TE first increased and then decreased. The average concentrations of PM_2.5 mass in the stages of Before Haze, During Haze, and After Haze were (88.80±19.97), (135.41±36.20), and (96.35±36.26) μg/m³, respectively. The corresponding average concentrations of secondary organic carbon (SOC) were 6.72, 8.18, and 10.39 μg/m³, accounting for 46.5%, 27.0%, and 61.0% of OC, respectively. SO4^2-, NO3^-, and NH4⁺ were three major WSIIs species, accounting for 31.4%, 26.0%, and 12.1% of total WSIIs. The major elements in PM_2.5 were S, K, Fe, Zn, Pb, Ti, and Mn, covering 97.9% of the total elements, while the percentage of the other ten elements was only 2.1%. The average value of light extinction coefficients (bext) was 371.0±147.1 Mm-1 during the typical haze episode. The average percentage contributions to bext were 39.3% for organic mass, 19.9% for elemental carbon, 16.0% for ammonium sulfate, 13.0% for coarse mass, and 11.8% for ammonium nitrate.