An important current trend in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is the growing exploitation of optical pumping of nuclear spin polarizations as a means of enhancing and localizing NMR signals. Recent work has been concentrated in two areas, namely optically pumped NMR in semiconductors and optical pumping of noble gases. Progress in these two areas, including technical developments and new applications in physical chemistry, condensed matter physics, and biomedical sciences, is reviewed. Likely directions for future developments are suggested.