In order to correct the impact of the optical axis swing on the angle measuring precision of the theodolite and achieve high precision measurement,the fundamental theory of the system error compensation by using the method of cytaster calibration was analyzed,and then a method to calibrate and correction on the optical axis swing of the theodolite by using collimators was designed. After calibrating the optical axis error,the approximating function of the system error was obtained,and any optional object can be compensated and corrected according to the function. This method is convenient to operate and easy to construct by simple measuring condition,and the angle measuring precision is better than 10″ in the practical experiment. This provides a efficient method for correction of the optical axis error and the high precision electro optical measurement.