The machining path has an important effect on the surface quality of complex optical surfaces and the optical properties of the workpiece. Therefore, the optimal path solution method of artificial potential field method is studied to improve the machining quality and meet the practical application requirements. According to the condition of equal residual height, the cutter point of complex optical surface machining is determined. The cutter point is taken as the target point when the artificial potential field method is used to solve the optimal machining path. By introducing the relative velocity repulsion field into the repulsion field function of artificial potential field, the repulsion field function is improved, and the resultant force of each cutter point is determined by using the gravitational force field function and the improved repulsion field function. According to the resultant force of each cutter point, the feed direction of the tool is determined, that is, the optimal machining path of the complex optical surface. Experimental results show that the machining accuracy of this method is 98.15%, which can effectively determine the cutter point of complex optical surface and solve the optimal machining path. The surface roughness of complex optical surfaces machined by this method is lower and the machining quality is higher.