The Raman and infrared spectra of all-trans-astaxanthin （AXT） in dimethyl sulfoxide （DMSO） solvent were investigated experimentally and theoretically. Density functional cal-culations of the Raman spectra predict the splitting of the υ1 band into υ1-1 and υ1-2 compo-nents. The absence of splitting in Raman experimental spectra is ascribed to the competition between the two symmetric C=C stretching vibrations of the backbone chain. The υ1 band is very sensitive to the excitation wavelength： resonance excitation stimulates the higher-frequency υ1-2 mode, and off-resonance excitation corresponds to the lower-frequency υ1-1 mode. Analyses of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding between C=O and O-H in the AXT/DMSO system reveal that the C4=O1...H1-O3 and C4＇=O2...H2-O4 bonds are strengthened and weakened, respectively, in the electronically excited state compared with those in the ground state. This result reveals significant variations of the AXT molecular structure in different electronic states.
