A micro-pulse lidar and a compact optical backscatter aerosol detector (COBALD) are deployed for the combined observation of aerosol vertical structures at Kunming from July to August 2017. The synchronous observation and comparison methods of these two instruments are introduced. The differences in the backscatter ratio profiles and vertical distribution characteristics of the aerosols, which are simultaneously measured by the lidar and COBALD, are analyzed. The observation results of the two instruments show good consistency with each other. The correlation coefficient between the backscatter ratio measured by lidar and that measured by COBALD is 0.87 in the absence of a cloud at a height of 1-4 km, and the corresponding root-mean-square error is 0.752. Atmospheric observation results indicate that the developed micro-pulse lidar is an effective tool for continuous detection of the evolution processes of aerosol vertical structures. Synchronous fusion with sounding data from the COBALD can reduce hypothetical parameters in the retrieve algorithm of lidar signals. In conclusion, the combined observation of these two instruments has certain application.