Scattering loss characteristics of Ge‐Se binary chalcogenide glass optical fibers are investigated. It is found that there is a strong correlation between the wavelength‐independent scattering loss and the absorption caused by H2O impurities. Therefore, the amount of H2O impurity mainly determines the wavelength‐independent loss of these optical fibers. After removing the H2O impurity and adjusting the fabrication conditions, the transmission loss is less than 1 dB/m over a wide infrared wavelength region of 2–8.5 &mgr;m, except for a small peak at 4.5 &mgr;m.