An adapted quality management is a major prerequisite for the reliable production of optical components and coatings. Especially laser applications impose highest demands on modern optical systems and can be considered as a major pacemaker for the development of advanced quality management strategies. Therefore, most of the standardized concepts for the determination of the properties necessary for a comprehensive quality control, as for example losses and transfer functions as well as laser-induced damage thresholds or defect densities of optical surfaces, are based on laser systems. This contribution is intended to offer a brief review on the present status of optics characterization and the related standards often applied in the production of laser components. A selection of International Standards will be presented with focus on the determination of laser induced damage thresholds (ISO 21254), optical absorption (ISO 11551), and Total Scattering (ISO 13696). The corresponding measurement methods will be described and discussed before the background of recent developments in laser technology. Finally, some aspects of the future development and projects of international standardization activities will be discussed. © COPYRIGHT SPIE