The influence of molecular scattering models on aerosol optical properties measured by high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) is experimentally investigated and theoretically evaluated. The measurements analyzed in this study were made during three field campaigns by the German Aerospace Center airborne HSRL. The influence of the respective theoretical model on spaceborne HSRL retrievals is also estimated. Generally, the influence on aerosol extinction coefficient can be neglected for both airborne and spaceborne HSRLs. However, the influence on aerosol backscatter coefficient depends on aerosol concentration and is larger than 3% (6%) at ground level for airborne (spaceborne) HSRLs, which is considerable for the spaceborne HSRL, especially when the aerosol concentration is low. A comparison of the HSRL measurements and coordinated ground-based sunphotometer measurements shows that the influence of the model is observable and comparable to the measurement error of the lidar system.