A reflective optical system is not affected by chromatic aberration, so it has a wide range of applications. Based on the design theory of reflective zoom system with three mirrors, this paper presents the simulation, optimiza- tion, and image quality evaluation of the traditional off- axis three-mirror zoom system and freeform off-axis three- mirror reflective zoom system.. In these systems, the optical design was aided by software CODEV. Through the analysis of aberrations and structural performance for the traditional aspherical off-axis three-mirror system, the freeform surface was introduced to the tertiary mirror to improve the balance capacity for optical aberrations. This off-axis three-mirror reflective zoom system based on freeform surface could provide technical reference to the study of such systems.