Coastal dunes are formed under the interaction of air, land, and sea, in which wind and sea level change play important roles in the development of the dunes. Using optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique, we studied six samples of coastal dunes along Donghai (DH) section (25°52'29.9N, 119°34'44.5E; 4.42km from coastline) in Changle, Fujian, East China. Samples were collected with stainless pipe (30cm long, diameter 6cm). Grain size characteristics were determined and their fluctuation was compared against those of the East Asian winter monsoon sequence, the Northern Hemisphere temperature series, and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO). These samples were mainly medium-fine-grained sand, well sorted, in negative to nearly symmetrical skewness, and medium kurtosis, indicative of typical coastal aeolian sands. OSL dating show that they were formed in the past 300 years since the late Little Ice Age (LIA). The climate conditions were weaker East Asia winter monsoon, dry and windy, and frequent human activities promoted coastal dunes. Since late LIA, the intensity of aeolian activity as represented by the mean grain size, the East Asian winter monsoon and Northern Hemisphere temperature series are well related each other, but not with the North Atlantic Oscillation. Regional typhoon and storm surge might have produced rapid sand accumulation and erosion, resulting in information loss or alteration in grain size. We found that the development of the dunes was closely related to sea level change as the dunes recorded secondary fluctuations of late Holocene sea level. Since the Han Dynasty (202 220BC) in China, the Changle coast retreated gradually, and had progressed eastward for 510km, which promoted efficiently the seaward growth of the coastal dunes.