Aerosol excintion is the main factor affecting atmospheric visibility. The nonlinear relationship between aerosol concentration and scattering and absorption characteristics leads to great uncertainty in the influence of aerosol on the visibility. The concentrations of reconstructed fine mass (RCFM) ranged from 1.4 to 19.4 μg m–3 and reconstructed aerosol extinction coefficients from 10.0 to 172.5 Mm–1 in the United States from 1988 to 2008 from IMPROVE (the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments) network. The average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in various regions of China ranged from 14.3 to 188.3 μg m–3 from 2006 to 2018, corresponding to reconstructed extinction coefficients of 52.6–1044.0 Mm–1. The PM2.5 concentration in the U.S. region was comparable to that of Sanya, China. In most cases, sulfate was the largest contributing component to aerosol extinction, accounting for up to 77%, followed by organic matter with a maximum of 50%, while nitrate contributed more to aerosol extinction only in Southern California, exceeding 30%. The difference in extinction between the east and west was more significant than the difference in aerosol concentration because of the higher relative humidity in the east than in the west. In China, sulfate and organic matter were the main components of extinction, accounting for 21%–57% and 21%–39%, respectively, and nitrate was the main extinction component only in central China, exceeding 30%. The reconstructed extinction coefficient had both low values of overestimation and high values of underestimation (-60%–35%). The more severe the pollution, the more obvious the underestimation. Aerosol concentration and extinction level are significantly higher in China than in the United States. IMPROVE equation has obvious uncertainties to underestimate high extinction coefficient and to overestimate low extinction coefficient in China. The uncertainty will have a negative impact on the accurate implementation of air pollution prevention and blue sky program. It is urgent and significant to carry out the accurate accounting extinction of aerosol components and tracing the aerosol sources, which will provide scientific program to control the aerosol sources for improving atmospheric visibility in the various environmental climate regions.