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We report on the experimental observation of abruptly autofocusing waves. This interesting family of wave packets has been realized by using a radially symmetric Airy intensity distribution. As demonstrated in our experiments, these waves can exhibit unusual features, such as the ability to autofocus by following a parabolic trajectory toward their focus. © 2011 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 050.1940, 260.2030, 350.5500, 320.0320. Optical waves are often used as a means of energy deliv-ery on a remote target. In many applications, a Gaussian or top-hat beam is focused on a remote target by the use of a focusing element that reshapes the beam’s wave-front. The main drawback of this approach is the gradual increase in the peak intensity as the focus is approached. In this case, the beam energy is delivered in an extended volume that is, in general, proportional to VF ∝ λ3ð#FÞ4, where λ is the wavelength, #F denotes the f-number (#F ≡ f =D), f is the focal distance, and D is the initia