An optical scanning lens and an optical scanning and imaging system for use in an optical scanning apparatus for scanning a surface of an optical recording medium, such as a photosensitive material, for writing data thereupon, is constructed to produce a minimum beam spot diameter, in a sub-scanning direction, within a desired range, while also reducing variation in a scanning line pitch and reducing variation in beam spot diameter according to an image height for every point along a scanning surface by determining and compensating for a non-uniform distribution of refractive indices in an optical scanning lens used in the optical scanning imaging system, before designing and manufacturing the optical scanning lens.