Under the stimulation of external fields, smart optical materials (SOMs) are able to change the optical properties such as color, transparency or light transmission direction. Great importance has been exhibited in wide applications such as display, anti-counterfeiting, sensors, and camouflages. SOMs modulated by dynamic surface or interface change the optical properties based on the regulation of light scattering, interference or diffraction by the change of surface or interface structures. Different from traditional SOMs based on chemical mechanisms, this kind of SOMs shows better cycle stability and environmental friendliness. Firstly, the discoloration phenomenon based on dynamic surface or interface in nature is introduced. Two categories of SOMs based on dynamic surface interface according to the regulation mechanism are summarized:dynamic surface regulation and dynamic interface regulation. In the former, three strategies for dynamic surface regulation, i.e., surface micro/nano array, wrinkle, and crack, are shown in detail. In the latter type, the SOMs modulated by three approaches are also summarized, i.e., the dynamic generation of noval interfaces, the regulation of interface parameters, and the synergetic regulation of surface and interface. On this basis, the driving modes of SOMs based on dynamic surface or interface are summarized, and especially several new controllable driving modes are pointed out. Finally, the potential applications in the fields of display, anti-counterfeiting, sensors and so on are exhibited. This paper aims to provide reference for both the design of novel SOMs based on dynamic surface or interface and their practical applications.