A confocal method for measuring whole—field 3-D surface topography,which employs a micro—optic component to realize parallel measuring and reco rding is proposed. An array of point light sources produced by the micro-optic compo nent is used to detect one of the confocal plane series simultaneously. And as an alternative to a pinhole diaphragm, the pixels on the CCD plane directly capture and register the 3-D information intensities from the detected planes. The principle and the depth response relation of the method are discussed, and the primary experimental results and a 3-D reconstructed image ape given.