The spectral and laser properties of the conjugated polymer poly (9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2, 7-diyl) (PFO) in benzene have been studied and presented in this paper. The absorption spectra of PFO in benzene under low concentration showed that there was only one peak at 390 nm. When the concentration was increased, a new peak at 437 nm appeared additionally, indicating dimer formation at higher concentration of PFO in benzene. The fluorescence spectra for low concentration showed two peaks at 422 nm and 444 nm, which could be attributed to the monomer and the excimer. At the longer wavelength side of these spectra, there was a hump at 465 nm. This hump became dominant for higher concentrations and in low temperatures, while the other peaks became weaker. So, this new peak at 465 nm may be due to the dimer. For still higher concentrations, the peaks at 422 nm and 444 nm vanished and there was a dominant peak only at 465 nm. Under suitable concentration and pump power excitation of Nd: YAG laser (355 nm) the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectra were obtained. It could be seen that there were three ASE peaks at 422, 444 and 470 nm. These peaks could be attributed to the monomer, excimer and dimer respectively. This is perhaps the first report on ASE from dimers of the conjugated polymer, PFO in liquid solution. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.