Gold options are financial derivatives related to gold that allow investors to buy or sell gold at a specific price at some point in the future. There are two types of gold options: call options and put options. Call options are used when an investor expects the price of gold to rise in the future, giving them the right to buy gold at a predetermined price in the future. On the other hand, put options are used when an investor expects the price of gold to fall in the future, giving them the right to sell gold at a predetermined price in the future.

In the Chinese market, gold options are mainly traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Investors can open a futures account at a member unit of the exchange and meet the requirement of capital and testing, then trade corresponding gold options.

Options are just a short for futures options. In fact, the parties to the transaction deliver the futures contract. Therefore, the underlying asset of the delivery between buyers and sellers of gold options is Shanghai Futures Exchange's gold futures contracts, not physical gold. The trading unit of one gold options contract is one lot of gold futures contract, which means that one call option on gold corresponds to one lot of gold futures contract after the exercise. Similarly, one put option on gold requires the delivery of one lot of gold futures contract to the counterparty.

In the international market, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is the main exchange that provides gold options contracts. Due to the complexity and variety of investment strategies involved in gold options trading, the market for gold options is not large.