This invention provides a photographing optical lens assembly comprising, in order from an object side to an image side: a first lens element with positive refractive power having a convex object-side surface; a second lens element with negative refractive power having a concave object-side surface and a concave image-side surface, the object-side and image-side surfaces thereof being aspheric; a third lens element having a concave image-side surface, the object-side and image-side surfaces thereof being aspheric, at least one inflection point formed on the image-side surface; wherein there are three lens elements with refractive power. Such an arrangement of lens elements can effectively reduce the total track length of the lens assembly, attenuate the sensitivity of the optical system and obtain higher resolution.