Reservoirs were critical sources of drinking water for many large cities around the world, but progress in the development of large-scale monitoring protocols to obtain timely information about water quality had been hampered by the complex nature of inland waters and the various optical conditions exhibited by these aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we systematically investigated the absorption coefficient of different optically-active constituents (OACs) in 120 reservoirs of different trophic states across five eco-regions in China. The relationships were found between phytoplankton absorption coefficient at 675 nm (a(ph) (675)) and Chlorophyll a (Chla) concentration in different regions (R-2:0.60-0.82). The non-algal particle (NAP) absorption coefficient (a(NAP)) showed an increasing trend for reservoirs with trophic states. Significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption and water chemical parameters. The influencing factors for contributing the relative proportion of OACs absorption including the hydrological factors and water quality factors were analyzed. The non-water absorption budget from our data showed the variations of the dominant absorption types which underscored the need to develop and parameterize region-specific bio-optical models for large-scale assessment in water reservoirs.