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The one-photon and two-photon absorption properties of donor–acceptor substituted dehydrobenzo[18]annulenes were determined by using density functional theory and ZINDO methods. The macrocycle containing C2v symmetry exhibited the largest TPA cross-section value of 3376 × 10–50 cm4 s/photon. The calculated results indicate that the TPA response in the whole molecule comes from the contribution of that in the every side in the trigon. It is notable that the magnitudes of the transition dipole moment from the virtual intermediate state to the TPA final state and the dipole moment difference between the ground state and the virtual intermediate state play important roles in increasing the TPA cross-section value. This series of molecules can circumvent the trade-off between efficiency and transparency, and they provide a promising direction for the further development of novel two-dimensional molecules with such properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]