An ultrafast time-resolved diffuse reflectance spectroscopic system has been developed as a potential instrument for analyzing photophysical and photochemical dynamics of light scattering materials such as powder and opaque suspension, using an amplified femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser as a light source. Transient absorption spectra of organic powder, covering the wavelength region from 400 to 760 nm, were precisely obtained by using a stable and bright femtosecond white-light continuum as a probe light. An ultrashort light pulse is temporally broadened owing to numerous times of refraction, reflection, and diffraction in scattering materials. This affects the temporal resolution of transient absorption measurements, which was examined and discussed in detail by using a simple numerical model with time-dependent light propagation of a short pulse. From the simulation and experimental results, it was shown that the temporal resolution of transient absorption measurement is less than a few ps under a certain measurement condition, although it strongly depends on the optical properties of the sample; scattering and absorption coefficients. Some applications to the analysis of excited dynamics of organic molecules in polymer latex and molecular microcrystalline powder are also demonstrated. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.